The mangled car that met with an accident on NH-5 near Balasore. Telegraph picture

Balasore, Jan. 20: Two members of a picnic party died and several others were injured when the vehicle they were travelling in rammed into a stationary truck near Balasore on NH-5.

The picnickers were returning from Digha to Cuttack. The deceased have been identified as Pramod Sahu, 27, and Niranjan Rout, 23.

The injured are undergoing treatment at the Balasore district headquarters hospital. Among them, the driver and three others are in critical state. The accident took place in the early hours of Monday near Panapana under Khantapara police station.

Inspector-in-charge of Khantapara police station Nirmal Mohanty said: “The accident took place at around 2am. Two of the passengers have died and the injured are undergoing treatment.”

The damaged vehicle has been removed and the road has been cleared, he added.

There were 12 passengers in the vehicle and all of them have suffered injuries. The victims, all in their mid-20s, had gone to Digha for picnic from Cuttack’s Malhasahi and Mangalabag areas.

Police suspect that speeding had led to the accident. One of the injured, however, said that the driver had dozed off and that had caused the mishap.

Workers of a dhaba near the accident spot said that one of the passengers died on the spot. Another succumbed to injuries during treatment at the hospital.

The injured have been identified as Ghana Chand (the driver), Rajkishore Singh, Purnachandra Sahu, Prakash Behera, Daru Rima, Rashmi Mohapatra, Raju Behera, Bikash Sahu, Satyaban Jena and Kamlakanta Das.