Picnic turns tragic: 5 killed in road mishap in Odisha’s Sundargarh

Bhubaneswar: At least 5 persons, including four members of two families, were killed in a road mishap in Odisha’s Sundargarh district today.

A 14-year-old girl was also critically injured in the mishap that occurred near Telendihi village in Sundargarh in the afternoon.

According to sources, some residents of Bagichapada under Sundargarh Sadar police limits went for a picnic to Telendihi area in the morning.

The road mishap took place while they were returning home in an auto-rickshaw in the afternoon, sources said.

A speeding truck hit the auto-rickshaw near Telendihi and the two vehicles fell into the roadside field following the collision, sources added.

“The truck and the auto-rickshaw fell around 20 feet down into the agricultural field due to the collision. At least five persons died on the spot and a minor girl sustained critical injuries in the mishap,” said a local.

The deceased have been identified as Munsan Khatoon (48) and her granddaughter Inayat (4), Ishrat Khatoon (42) and her daughter Muskan (19), and auto-rickshaw driver Muhammad Sajjad.

Soni, another daughter of Ishrat, sustained critical injuries in the mishap. She has been admitted to Sundargarh District Headquarters Hospital (DHH), sources said.

Soon after the mishap, the locals staged a road blockade at Balijari Square at Sundargarh seeking compensation for the families of the deceased persons.