BHUBANESWAR: The journey of Jagabandhu Haldar, 25, from Hariharnagar village in Nadia district of West Bengal to Puri ended in a tragedy on Thursday after the bus he was travelling in skidded off the road and fell into a gorge at Dhauli.
Haldar, a techie working in Pune, died on spot while 59 persons were severely wounded. His family and relatives were also in the bus.
"We were not lucky enough to get a darshan of Jagannath. The driver lost control over the vehicle and it overturned while we were returning from Dhauli," said Vipin Chauhury, 33, an injured, who was going to Puri with his wife and five-year-old child.
The tourists were supposed to arrive in Puri in the evening and planned to stay there till Sunday.
"While returning from Dhauli, the bus hit a bull. Panicky, the driver increased the speed but could not control the bus at a turning," said IIC of Dhauli police station Bimalendu Satapathy.
Police said around 60 people, including staff, were in the bus. The injured were rescued with the help of police, fire personnel and passersby. They were rushed to Capital Hospital."Condition of the injured is stable. We have referred 11 patients to SCB Medical College and Hospital as their condition deteriorated. Most people sustained fractures and head injuries," said a doctor at the Capital Hospital.
This is the second accident at Dhauli in less than three years. On February 7, 2012, a tourist bus from West Bengal had met the same fate leaving four dead. "Khurda collector has already informed his Nadia counterpart about the incident. SCB authorities have been asked to promptly attend to patients and to do whatever necessary," said tourism and culture minister Ashok Panda, who was supervising treatment of patients.