Sambalpur, July 31: Five persons, including three women and a child, died last night when the sports utility vehicle (SUV) in which they were travelling collided head on with a truck in Attabira of Bargarh district, 22km from here.

Six persons were also injured in the mishap that occurred on NH-53.

The deceased were identified as Pradeep Chindra, 33, Gayatri Chindra, three, Geetarani Saraf, 59, Supreeti Saraf, 19, and Sukanti Saraf, 53. The injured were identified as Krishna Saraf, 19, Mamata Saraf, 45, Biswajeet Saraf, 35, Benga Saraf, 48, Boby Saraf, 29, and the driver of the SUV, Sanat Rana, 29.

A source said: “Twelve people were travelling in the SUV that collided with a truck laden with iron ore. The accident took place last night when they were on their way back from Nrusinghnath, a tourist spot that is around 180km from Sambalpur.”

An eyewitness said: “The accident took place around 11pm yesterday. Local residents had rushed to the place of accident and informed the police. The police rushed to the spot and rescued the injured. The injured were sent to the VSS Medical College and Hospital. A three-year-old also died in the accident.”

Inspector in charge of Attabira police station Tarajasmine Guria said: “The SUV collided head on with a truck. The injured have been sent to VSS Medical College and Hospital in Burla. We are yet to ascertain the reason behind the accident.”