About 20 killed as bus falls off bridge in Odisha

BHUBANESHWAR: Nearly 20 people died when a bus they were travelling in fell 50 feet off a bridge in Odisha’s Angul district on Fridaymorning. The death toll could rise as several of the remaining passengers were critically injured.

The passenger bus, traveling from the state’s Boudh district to Athmallik in Angul, was minutes away from its destination when the accident occurred.

According to early reports, the driver swerved the bus to avoid a cyclist and drove it off the old narrow bridge.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has announced ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of the dead. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan tweeted to express their shock and grief over the accident.

Earlier this year, a bus plunged into a gorge in Deogarh district, killing several people.