27 Killed, as Opera Party Bus falls off Gaelo Ghat in Deogarh

In a shocking development, a bus carrying 38 Jatra Party artists of Bharati Gananatya, fell off the Gaelo Ghat in Tileibani near Deogarh, leaving 27 people dead and 11 injured. Some of the injured are said to be critical.

The dead included Bharati Gananatya owner Sitaram Pradhan and manager Narayan Pradhan. An eight-month-old baby girl and a woman were among the survivors. Six critical injured are being treated at Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) in Burla.

The bus fell into a 300 feet gorge. It was going from Deogarh to Sohela. District Collector and SP immediately rushed to the accident spot. The injured have been rushed to the Deogarh hospital. Fire tenders were pressed into service.

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik has expressed grief over the incident and ordered the administration to speed up rescue operations and take care of the injured. He has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the kin of dead.