Dharmasala: As many as five members of a National Disaster Response Force were seriously injured after a mini-truck ferrying them met with an accident on National Highway-5 near Gokaneswar temple under Dharmasala police limits in Jajpur district Sunday.
Sources said the incident occurred while the members were returning after a mock drill in Dashrathpur block. The critically injured were identified as sub-inspector R C Meena, constable Yaswant Nayak, V Naresh, Sudeesh P S and driver Anna Durei of Karnataka.
Locals rescued the five in critical condition and rushed them to Dharmasala hospital. After primary treatment, they were shifted to Cuttack-based SCB Medical College and Hospital for further treatment.
According to sources, a team of NDRF visited Dashrathpur block for a mock drill and provided training to volunteers. Later, they were returning on a mini-truck. Meanwhile, the driver lost balance of the vehicle in a bid to save a pedestrian who was crossing the road carelessly. The vehicle skidded off to a farmland injuring all members inside the vehicle, sources said.
On being alerted, Dharmasala police reached the spot and seized the vehicle. Investigation into the incident is on, SI Sashi Bhusan Swain said. PNN
