At least six people, including two children, were killed and four others injured on Friday morning after a speeding passenger bus rammed into an overcrowded auto-rickshaw from behind near Ladkapally Chak in Odisha’s Ganjam district, police said.
The vehicle was carrying about 10 passengers from Erindra village in Chikiti district. The group was on its way to the Singhasani shrine in Bulsara to perform pilgrimage when the accident occurred.
According to police officers, the passenger bus, which was allegedly moving at high speed, hit the vehicle from behind and dragged the three-wheeler for several meters before it stopped.
Three passengers died on the spot, while local residents pulled the injured from the wrecked car with the help of police and fire service personnel and took them to Kudala Community Health Center for treatment. However, three more passengers died during treatment, bringing the death toll to six. The police have not yet identified the deceased.
Four people are receiving treatment, and their condition is reported to be critical.
The police sent the bodies to forensics and opened an investigation into the incident.
The bus driver reportedly fled the scene shortly after the accident, and efforts are still underway to trace and arrest him. Police said the passenger bus and the damaged vehicle were seized.
