Balasore, May 6: One person was killed when a private bus, in which he was travelling, rammed into a road divider near Remuna today.
Ten other passengers of the bus that was heading for Paradip from Calcutta suffered injured in the incident that took place around 4.30am on the National Highway No. 5 near the FM College old campus.
The identity of the deceased is yet to be established. The police suspect that the deceased could either be the driver or the conductor of the bus. However, sub-divisional police officer P.C. Badjena said: “The deceased is possibly the conductor of the bus, and his identity is yet to be established. The driver fled away from the scene after the mishap had occurred. Either the driver dozed off or was inattentive. The bus hit the road divider and overturned.”
The passengers were mostly from Kendrapara and Paradip. Four persons, who had suffered serious injuries, got shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack after being treated at district headquarters hospital.
The critically injured are identified as Mir Qasim, 50, Mir Sabir, 32, both from Kendrapara, Suryakanta Rout, 25, and Mamta Giri, 31, both from Paradip.
“The bus left from Calcutta around 9pm yesterday. I was sleeping tight when I heard a big noise. Before I could realise what was happening, the bus overturned and rolled twice before coming to a halt,” said Susanta Mandal, a passenger from Mahakalpada in Kendrapara district.
“Some of the passengers managed to come out with their own efforts. Others were pulled out of the vehicle by local residents, who later rushed them to hospital in ambulances,” Mandal said.
The police personnel from Industrial police station, barely 1km from the accident site, reached the spot immediately.
The police with the help of the National Highways Authority of India officials managed to remove the bus from the highway and ensured vehicular movement on the stretch.
A case has been registered on the grounds of rash and negligent driving.