Bangladeshi tourist killed, 15 hurt in bus accident on way to India’s Puri
NEWS DESK
One Bangladeshi woman tourist died and 15 others were injured when a bus carrying 65 Bangladeshi tourists met with an accident near Uttara Chowk, on the way to Puri in India, early Sunday, the Times of India reports.
The accident occurred after the drowsy bus driver reportedly allowed his untrained helper to take control of the vehicle, which veered off the road, hit a divider, and then overturned into a roadside canal.
The deceased was identified as Nonibala Nath (60) from Noakhali, Bangladesh. Of the injured, 11 were discharged from Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar after treatment, while four women remained hospitalised but were in stable condition.
An injured tourist, Barada Badiya, said, “We were travelling to Puri. The driver was tired and took rest, letting his helper drive. The helper hit the divider and lost control.”
Most passengers were asleep when the bus overturned around 2:30 am near the Puri-Bhubaneswar border, under Pipili police jurisdiction in Odisha.
Police reported that both the driver and helper fled the scene. Pipili police station in-charge Soumyadeep Tripathy said they had identified both and would arrest them. “Our priority was rescuing tourists and shifting them to hospital,” he added.
The tourists, aged between 60 and 70 years, had hired two buses from Kolkata to travel to Puri, mostly hailing from Barishal, Faridpur, Gazipur, Madaripur, Ramganj, Satkhira, and Noakhali districts of Bangladesh.
The Puri regional transport office (RTO) has ordered an inquiry. RTO officer Jena said the Indian authorities ensured timely treatment for the injured and arranged alternate buses to transport the tourists to Puri.
