Four die, 60 injured in road mishaps

BALASORE: Four persons, including a woman and an eight-month-old baby, were killed in two accidents on NH-5 in Balasore and Bhadrak districts on Thursday. Altogether 60 persons have been injured in the mishaps.Police said in the mishap near Simulia, about 55 km from here, three pilgrims died when a coal-laden truck hit their bus head-on after its driver lost control over the vehicle. The deceased have been identified as bus diver Somen Bhattacharya (56) of Sitalatola, Gobinda Samanta (52) and Maya Dhada (64) of Paschimapada in West Bengal.Police said the ill-fated bus carrying 66 pilgrims from Paschimpada village in Hooghly district in West Bengal was heading towards Puri when it was hit by a speeding truck. The truck first hit a diversion bar. The bus overturned in the impact.Sumulia IIC Sidheswar Nayak said while Bhattacharya and Samanta died on the spot, Dhada succumbed to his injuries in Bhadrak hospital. Of the 40 injured persons, 13 have been shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack.Locals who took the injured to the hospital before the arrival of police alleged that though they had intimated the fire fighting officials at Simulia and Ada, none reached the spot till the rescue operation was completed.In another accident, an eight-month-old child Narayan Dhal was killed and 20 others sustained severe injuries when a bus carrying them overturned after it hit the road divider near Bhandaripokhari in Bhadrak district. The bus carrying 42 passengers from Kolkata was heading towards Bari area in Jajpur district.