3 dead as private bus collides head-on with bike in Odisha

A fatal road accident occurred near Ranibandh locality in Rairangpur region of Mayurbhanj district when a private bus collided head-on with a bike on NH-220 on Friday, leaving three youths dead. The bus was travelling from Rairangpur to Keonjhar when it collided with the bike.

Also Read: Around 15 persons die every day due to road mishaps: Odisha Minister

According to private sources, all three victims are believed to be from Tiring area. Rescue teams have recovered the bodies of two victims, while the third remains trapped under the bus wheel. Efforts are underway to extricate the remaining body.

The police have launched an investigation into the accident. As of now, the identities of the deceased have not been established. Authorities continue to examine the circumstances leading to the collision and are working to provide clarity to families of the deceased.

Police have recovered the two bodies and sent them to a nearby hospital for a post-mortem. However, no comments were received from the local police in this regard.

Worth mentioning, the State is grappling with an unsettling escalation in the road accidents, which tragically claim the lives of approximately 15 individuals each day. During a previous session in the Legislative Assembly, Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhusan Jena had revealed this disturbing data: the daily average of road accidents in Odisha stands at 31, resulting in approximately 27 injuries.

Alarming statistics had surfaced, showing an average of five accidents every four hours, leading to injuries, with three fatalities occurring nearly every five hours. In the past five years, before March 2025, the State has faced an annual average of 11,366 road accidents, injuring nearly 10,008 people and claiming around 5,433 lives.

Despite the State government's efforts aimed at diminishing these fatal incidents, including various road safety initiatives, experts contend these programmes are largely confined to theoretical plans, limited to reviews and meetings alone.