Sambalpur: Three persons died and four others were critically injured in a head-on collision between a van and a truck in the wee hours of Friday near Tangarpali railway over bridge under Dhanupali police station area.
Police rescued the injured and sent them to hospital immediately for their treatment. The deceased have been identified as Satyabrata Nayak (27), Sanatan Mahanand (22) and Krishna Kuanr (19) while the injured are Basant Singh (30), Sunil Mirdha (19), Manoj Mirdha (22) and Rajkumar Mirdha (21). All of them are said to be residents of Rajapara, Hirakud.
All the seven persons, including the driver of the hired van, were returning home by a Maruti Ecco van, bearing number OD-15G 9208, after taking part in a puja and cultural programme last night at Sahajbahal near Padiabahal.
Describing the incident an eye-witness said that the driver lost control of his speeding van, swerved to the adjoining road on the right side and hit a road hump. It was then that a truck coming from the opposite direction on the adjoining road collided with the van that led to the deaths and the injuries.
Eye-witnesses said that the magnitude of the collision was such that the front part of the van became instantly mangled. Police had to use a gas cutter to bring out the dead bodies from the ill fated van.
The truck driver has been arrested and produced in court.
