A celebratory night turned into a nightmare on Sunday when a head-on collision between a speeding trailer and a police Bolero claimed the lives of five personnel near H Katapali. Two others remain in critical condition.
The victims, members of the Reserve Police Force, were returning from a colleague’s wedding in Rengali when the horrific crash occurred. The impact was so severe that the vehicle was reduced to a heap of metal. Local residents and emergency teams worked through the wreckage to retrieve the bodies.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed profound grief on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), describing the incident as "heartbreaking." To support the bereaved families, the CM has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund. Investigations are currently underway to determine if the trailer driver was speeding or intoxicated during the fatal encounter.