Sambalpur, April 18: An eight-month-old girl and her mother miraculously escaped with minor injuries after the bus in which they were travelling fell into a 300-feet gorge in Deogarh district last evening.

Twenty-seven people died in the accident that took place at Gayal Ghat. Among the dead are five women and a child. Of the 11 injured, two are critical. Around 40 people were in the bus.

Though the baby is lucky to have her mother by her side, she has lost her father and a five-year-old brother in the accident. The mother, 26-year-old Laxmipriya Patel, is a dancer in the jatra group Bharati Gananatya, from Remta village. Laxmipriya, whose husband used to work as an electrician with the group, lies in a state of shock at the hospital.

"I was asleep with my eight-month-old daughter Deepika on my lap. I woke hearing other passengers admonishing the driver for driving recklessly and at high speed. Suddenly, the bus fell into the gorge. There was a loud noise and I became unconscious," she said.

Laxmipriya was unaware about the death of her husband, Raj Kumar Patel, and her five-year-old son Deepak until late Monday evening. The family lives in a rented house at Jagannathnagar in Barpali of Bargarh district. The couple, who had been working in the jatra troupe for the past 10 years, had got married around six years ago.

Local residents said the troupe had performed at Dengurjhar village under Tilebani block of Deogarh district on Saturday night. They left the village around 5pm on Sunday. The accident took place two hours later.

Another survivor, Puja Chhatria, 24, who lost her husband in the accident, said: "The bus was running at high speed. Some of my co-passengers had been asking the driver to slow down. He was not the regular driver of the bus and had joined to group only a couple of days ago. After the bus skidded off the road, the only thing I remember is a loud noise. When I opened my eyes after the accident, I found my husband Subhanath Chhatria lying dead."

Puja, who is from Tangarpara in Bargarh district, has been working with the troupe for more than five years. Among the dead are the owner of the jatra group Sitaram Pradhan, the lead actor, actress, the villain and the driver of the bus.

Police, district fire brigade, voluntary organisations and local people rushed to the spot following the accident and launched the rescue operation. While 24 persons died on the spot, 14 injured persons were rushed to Deogarh district headquarters hospital.

Of them, three persons died on the way to the hospital. Eight injured persons were given preliminary treatment at the hospital and were later shifted to Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Science and Research, Burla.

"The rescue operation could not be completed last evening because of the lack of light and difficult terrain," district police superintendent Sarah Sharma said.

The rescue operation started again this morning, but there were no other survivors in the debris. The belongings of the troupe were recovered. A villager involved in the rescue operation said: "Most of the bodies were lying scattered in the area." VIMSAR director Sona-mali Bag said: "The condition of two patients are critical. The required medical treatment is being provided to them."

The deceased, who have been identified so far are Banabas Sahu, Laxmikant Dhanpati, Sanat Behera, Rajesh Behera, Debaraj Suna, Surendra Pradhan, Sarat Majhi, Sukanti Parida, Kashinath Pradhan, manager of the troupe Narayana Pradhan, owner of the troupe Sitaram Pradhan, Sanjeev Dehury, Madan Panigrahi, Angada Pradhan, Praddep Bhoi, Jayanti Sethy, Subhanath Chhatria, Debanand Haripal, Rasananda Mahanandia, Raj Kumar Patel, Deepak Patel, bus driver Ashok Deep and Rabi Bhoi.