The passenger bus was travelling from Bhubaneswar towards Sinappali in Nuapada when the accident took place, just three kilometres from the town in the early hours of Thursday morning. It is not clear what the cause of the accident was, however surviving passengers said that the bus driver may have been on his cell phone when he lost control of the bus and hit into a tree on the side of the road.
Soon after crashing into the tree, the bus caught on fire. Five passengers were burnt to death, while 38 others suffered a variety of injuries ranging from mild lacerations to severe burns. The injured passengers were treated at the scene by first responders and then transported via ambulance to the Bolangir District Headquarters Hospital. Once stabilized, two of the injured were transferred to VSS Medical College and Hospital in Burla, where they remain in a critical condition.
Two of the five deceased have been identified as Mrs Sakuntala Devi Agarwal, 55, of Boudh, and her six year old grandson, Srianshu Goel. Efforts are being made to contact family members and identify the remaining bodies, said police authorities.
The police are also on the hunt for the bus driver and the conductor of the bus, who both fled from the scene of the accident.
In other bus accident news, 34 people were injured in Ohio in the United States after a bus rear-ended a passenger car on a highway near Bowling Green on Tuesday evening at approximately 10.30pm. All five passengers in the car, including two young children, were transported to hospital with non-life threatening injuries with 29 passengers on the bus also sustained minor injuries. One of the bus passengers was transported to hospital by helicopter, where he was treated for more serious injuries.
The bus, which was operated by the Consolidated Biscuit Co., was transporting employees back from work. Although the cause of the accident is not yet know, police have reported that from the results of their initial investigation, alcohol and drugs did not play a role in the accident.
This accident was the second bus accident in Ohio that day, after a bus carrying only the 75 year old driver crashed at 11.30pm on Tuesday night. He was not injured.
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