17 BSF men injured as van overturns

KORAPUT: As many as 17 Border Security Force (BSF) jawans were injured after a van in which they were travelling skidded off road and fell into a 10 to 15 ft deep pit at Laxmipur, about 64 kms from Koraput on Wednesday. Of the total 17, four jawans sustained critical injuries and have been shifted to Visakhapatnam for treatment.

“The accident occurred near Burja village which is about 5 kms from the camp in Laxmipur. The van was carrying about 20 personnel,” informed BSF DIG (Intelligence) JC Nayak. The personnel of BSF 195 battalion’s were returning to their camp after completing night shift at Laxmipur-Rayagada road.

Tarunisen Sahu, an auto-rickshaw driver and also an eye-witness, informed Laxmipur police about the accident. On being informed, Laxmipur IIC Jagananth Acharya along with a police team rushed to the spot and made arrangements to shift the injured jawans to the nearby hospital. Later, the personnel were shifted to Koraput MCH. Four jawans were referred to Visakhapatnam after their condition worsened, sources said.

A Pawan Hans helicopter was called in from Bhubaneswar to Koraput for airlifting the critically injured jawans to Visakhapatnam.

Later, Commandant of 195 BSF Battalion TK Mandata and DIG T Sriramul visited the spot to take stock of the situation. “We will conduct a departmental inquiry into the incident,” Nayak added.

It is to be noted that due to delay in construction of  Ranchi-Vijayawada highway and absence of proper signages, accidents have become a common affair on the particular road.