Five killed, 17 injured as bus rams into truck in Odisha’s Sundargarh

ROURKELA: Five passengers were killed and 17 others injured when a Koida-bound bus collided head-on with a truck on National Highway (NH) 520 near K Balang police station in Bonai sub-division on Thursday.

Six passengers in critical condition were rushed to Rourkela for urgent treatment after the crash at Sanambudu, just two kilometres from K Balang police station. The collision, which tore through the highway, occurred around 11.15–11.30 am.He confirmed that 17 others, including the truck driver, sustained injuries, six of them critically. Identification of the deceased is underway.

According to preliminary investigations, the bus attempted a sudden lateral entry onto NH 520 from the wrong side, resulting in the collision.

Sources said the bus, moving on the highway shoulder to overtake slow-moving traffic near a roadside dhaba, collided violently with the truck while trying to re-enter the Taking to X, leader of the opposition and BJD president Naveen Patnaik said, “The heartbreaking news of numerous lives lost and injuries sustained in the recent tragic accident near K.Balang in Sundargarh is distressing.

I pray for the swift recovery of all the injured, along with the eternal peace of the departed souls.

Rourkela-based DIG of Police (Western Range) Brijesh Kumar Rai confirmed that the deceased include three women and two men.