2 killed, 25 hurt in highway mishap

BHUBANESWAR: Two persons died and 25 were injured when three vehicles crashed onto one other at Gudiapokhari, about 15 km from here along the Bhubaneswar-Puri Road, on Thursday.  While the spot where the accident took place along the National Highway was a picture of wreckage, it was the locals who came to the rescue of the victims. One of them even employed his dredger to remove the vehicles and extricate the entangled passengers. Two passengers, who had almost been crushed under the weight of the bus which turned turtle, were rescued by the local residents. One of the victims died on the way to Capital Hospital while another succumbed at SCB Medical, Cuttack, later in the evening. At least three are battling for life. The accident took place at about 11.30 am. A passenger bus, carrying about 50 people, was on its way to Puri while a Tata Venture and a Maruti Omni were coming from the Pilgrim Town. Locals said the Omni driver apparently tried to overtake the pick-up van near a curve at Gudiapokhari and rammed straight into the bus coming from the opposite direction. While the bus driver applied brakes to prevent collision, the Tata Venture hit it from rear. While the Omni was carrying a family from Bhubaneswar, tourists from West Bengal were travelling in the Tata Venture. Locals rushed to the spot and found that all the three vehicles had overturned while travellers, who were caught in the mangled remains, had suffered serious injuries. Before police could rush in, the local residents rescued the victims and arranged for their hospitalisation. As many as 25 travellers were hurt, five critically.  The accident forced a shutdown of traffic movement along the National Highway for about an hour. Soon the road was blocked after a clash between two communities at Pipili.