Dhenkanal, Nov. 26: A road mishap on National Highway 55 claimed four lives leaving as many injured in the wee hours today.
The accident occurred when a trawler collided head on with a Bolero at Panchawati Chhak. Four persons travelling in the car died at district headquarters hospital. The deceased people were from Balasore, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur, police source said. Car driver Rabi Mishra, who also died in the mishap, was from Cuttack.
On hearing a loud sound, local people rushed to the spot and informed the Dhenkanal town police. The injured were rushed to Dhenkanal hospital and later were shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack in serious conditions. The trawler driver had fled from the spot after the mishap.
The car was coming from Deogarh with a fleet of other vehicles. The passengers were returning home after participating in a religious function.
Sarat Mahapatra, who was travelling in another car following the Bolero, said: “The trawler from opposite direction was running at a very high speed.'
The trawler was on its way to Sambalpur from Cuttack.
“We got an information around 3am that an accident occurred on NH-55. We immediately rushed to the spot and managed to shift all the eight persons on board to nearby Dhenkanal district headquarters hospital. Four people were already dead by then. The hospital authorities referred the critically injured to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. Investigations are on to find out the cause of the mishap,' said inspector in-charge of Dhenkanal sadar police station Manas Garnaik.
Sub-divisional police officer B.N. Dandapat, who visited the spot, said: “It seems the trawler was at fault. The driver, for any reason, lost control of the vehicle that led to the collision. The vehicle has been seized.”
The NH-55 near Dhenkanal had witnessed another major mishap a fortnight ago when a Rourkela-bound bus collided with a speeding coal-laden truck at bypass road here, killing three on spot and injuring 20 others. The rash driving was the main cause behind most of these mishaps, police said.
