Nine electrocuted as bus comes in contact with sagging 11 KV electric wire in Odisha

BERHAMPUR/BHUBANESWAR: In a tragic incident, at least nine persons, including three women, were electrocuted and 25 injured when a bus in which they were travelling came in contact with a live electric wire at Mendarajpur Square in Ganjam district on Sunday.

Police sources said the ill-fated bus carrying 43 people from Dankalpadu village under Chikiti block got charged after coming in contact with an overhead live 11 KV electricity transmission wire on its way to Chikarada under Golonthara police station limits.

While five persons died on the spot, four others succumbed on their way to the hospital. The injured persons were rushed to MKCG Medical College and Hospital at Berhampur and nine of them were shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack after their condition deteriorated.

Five of the deceased persons have been identified as B Taraneya Reddy, B Iramma Reddy, B Achiamma, K Sandhya, B Mohini, B Rameya, CH Kamaraju Reddy and CH Tillotama, Santosini Sahu. The tragedy struck when the villagers of Dankalpadu were going to attend an engagement ceremony.

“The passengers, who held the railing of the bus while getting down, got charged and succumbed to death. Others who jumped off the bus escaped luckily. We immediately informed the local electricity office to disconnect the power supply,” said an eye-witness.

Berhampur SP Pinak Mishra said the condition of nine injured persons is critical. The mishap occurred after the bus came in contact with the sagging electric wire. “Initially our focus was to shift the rescued passengers to hospital and make arrangements for their treatment. A case will be registered and incident investigated,” he said.

Locals alleged that the mishap was the fallout of the callousness of electricity supply officials as despite repeated demands no action was taken by the Southco authorities to lift the sagging electric wire.

“The road was heightened, but no step was taken to increase the height of the electric wire. It was hanging at a height of only around three metre instead of 6.1 metre,” they said and alleged that the ambulance could not reach on time. The injured were to be shifted on auto-rickshaw. Had the ambulance reached on time, life of some others could have been saved, they added.

Commerce and Transport Minister Padmanabha Behera ordered a probe into the mishap. He said a joint team will inquire and submit a report by Monday. Stringent action will be taken against those found guilty, he assured.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has expressed deep grief over the death of people in the tragedy. He announced ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of the kin of the deceased and free treatment for the injured.

Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradha and Pratap Sarangi also condoled the death and wished speedy recovery of the injured persons. Sarangi demanded to hike the ex gratia amount to Rs 5 lakh.