Angul, Oct. 25: Five persons died and 50 injured when the bus they were travelling in fell from a bridge on the Cuttack-Sambalpur national highway. The accident took place at Tukuda near Jarapara, about 22 kilometres from here.

While three passengers died on the spot, two died while being taken to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, said sub-collector Saroj Kumar Mohanty.

The state government has announced Rs 2 lakh compensation for the next kin of the accident victims and free treatment for the injured.

The deceased have not been identified yet, said district police chief Kabita Jalan. "While 32 of the injured have been taken to SCB Medical College, 25 are under treatment at Angul district headquarters hospital. The bus driver has not been found yet. It is not clear whether he is alive," he added.

The bus that had about 60 passengers on board was on its way from Angul to Athmallick. Police said the accident took place when the bus had a head-on collision with a motorcycle.

One of the injured, Ranjan Barik, a resident of Laxmipur village, who fractured his leg, said: "I had taken the bus to go home and as soon as we reached the bridge, a motorcycle came from the opposite side and the bus fell off the bridge. I was saved by local residents."

Transport minister Ramesh Chandra Majhi said he had sought a report from the Angul district collector, Anil Samal, on the accident. Samal said he had constituted a three-member committee consisting of local sub-collector, sub-divisional police officer and the regional transport officer to conduct the probe and submit the report tomorrow.