Jaleswar: A man was killed and 35 others were injured as a passenger bus overturned after being hit by a truck on the bypass road near Chalanti village under this police limits in Balasore district Sunday. The deceased was identified as Malaya Mohanty, 45, of Kharida village in Bartana panchayat of Jaleswar block. Among the injured, 12 persons in critical condition have been admitted to the district headquarters hospital in Balasore.
The mishap occurred when a bus named ‘Geetanjali’ with 50 passengers on board was on its way to Baripada from Bhograi via Jaleswar. The bus was negotiating a diversion road when a West Bengal bound truck hit it from the rear. The bus overturned under the impact of the collision. On being informed, locals rushed to the spot and rescued the injured passengers trapped inside the bus. Later, they rushed the injured passengers to GK Bhattar hospital in Jaleswar. There, the doctors administered them primary treatment and rushed the 12 injured persons in ambulances to the district headquarters hospital in Balasore. However, Mohanty succumbed to his injuries near Rupsa. The truck driver had fled the scene after the mishap, but people caught him near the Laxmannath toll plaza and informed the police.
Police seized the truck and took the driver into custody. An investigation was launched while Jaleswar Municipality Chairman Pratap Pradhan visited the hospital and met the injured passengers undergoing treatment.
