Rourkela/Berhampur,Feb. 24: Seven members of a marriage party, including the bride and the groom, died today when their car collided with a dumper near the fertiliser township in Rourkela.

When the injured were brought to Rourkela Government Hospital, seven were declared dead on arrival. The deceased have been identified as Susanta Ratha, Sunita Panda, Sujata and Sonali Panda, Chandrama Ratha, Ramananda Mishra and Susanta Giri, the driver of the four-wheeler.

The condition of two other members of the group is reportedly serious. The groom's elder brother Santosh Ratha and his wife Suchitra Ratha are undergoing treatment at Ispat General Hospital.

The driver and the helper of the dumper have managed to escape from the spot.

The car, which was on its way to Berhampur, got badly damaged in the accident. Later, police had to cut the front portion of the vehicle to retrieve two bodies from inside. Tushar Jena, sub-divisional police officer of Panposh, said: 'The front portion of the car was totally smashed in the collision. We had to cut the vehicle to recover two bodies from inside.'

'The couple are in a very critical condition. They have suffered multiple bone injuries,' said a doctor at the health facility.

Pushpa Panda, 70, the mother of the three girls who died in the accident, was inconsolable. She, along with her daughters and a son, live at Sri Ram Nagar Jagannath Bihar in Berhampur.

'Yesterday, the entire family was so happy after the marriage ceremony. Who could have imagined that such a disaster was awaiting them!' said a neighbour.

In the past one month, accidents have claimed 13 lives in the district. On January 25, three of a family - husband, wife and their five-year-old son - died in a road accident near Barapalli. On February 12, three persons travelling in a car died near Bonai when their vehicle fell 20 feet below after the driver lost control.