 |
| The college bus that fell into a roadside pond in Berhampur. Picture by Gopal Krishna Reddy |
Berhampur, July 25: Twenty-four students of Odisha School of Engineering (OSE), Banthapalli, were injured when their bus turned turtle near Kumutibandha on the Lathi-Sukunda road on the outskirts of Berhampur this morning.
The bus was on its way to OSE Banthapalli from the students’ hostel at Nilakantha Nagar here when it skidded off the road around 8.30am.
“All the injured are diploma engineering students. There were about 45 students in the bus when the accident occurred. While 20 students were admitted to MKCG hospital, four were taken to City Hospital,” said OSE principal Raja Suresh. “Our institution will bear all expenses for treatment of these students and we will take necessary action to send the injured to their respective homes so that they can recover fully before joining class again,” he said.
Bus driver Prasant Kumar Das said that the road was very narrow. “The bus skidded off the road when I was trying to let a motorcycle pass by. The road was slippery due to incessant rain and I lost control,” he said, adding that the bus was moving very slow when the accident occurred. Das was not injured.
However, Ranjan Behera, the helper, suffered a serious injury on his leg.