Keonjhar, Nov. 29: Eleven persons, including four women, were killed while another was injured in a head-on collision between a jeep and a dumper at Hundula near Palaspanga on national highway No. 215 in Keonjhar district of Odisha today.
The passengers, who happen to be the members of one family, boarded the Bolero vehicle from Kara area of mineral rich Barbil town. They were going to Harichandanpur in the district to pay a visit to their relative’s house when a dumper from the opposite direction hit their vehicle.
The impact of the crash was severe and the Bolero’s doors were badly damaged. The victims were stuck inside the vehicle until a rescue team consisting of police and fire brigade reached the spot and helped them out. Nine passengers and the driver of the ill-fated Bolero died on the spot.
Two others, who were seriously injured, were rushed to the District Headquarter Hospital at Keonjhar. While one of them was declared brought dead, the other is undergoing treatment.
Baikuntha Mahanta, 50, of Karo village was the driver of the Bolero. The family members have been identified as Mataka Munda, 51, Shyama Munda, 20, Manika Munda, 46, Raibari Munda, 45, Dabar Munda, 42, Tudunga Munda, 30, Sama Sinku, 47, Rima Munda, 48, Manika Munda, 39 and Muna Munda, 20.
Some of the local people had seen the dumper being driven rashly on the road prior to the mishap, said an eyewitness.