Odisha: Bus dangles off river bridge after mechanical failure, close shave for 35 passengers
By Shrikant Panda
Cuttack, Oct. 4: As many as 35 passengers had on Tuesday a narrow escape from a major accident as a bus carrying them skidded off Jatamundia-Subarnapur bridge over the Mahanadi river near Banki in Odisha’s Cuttack district after developing a technical snag.
As per reports, the bus was en route to Bhubaneswar from Angul when the mishap occurred. On the way, the vehicle developed a mechanical failure while passing through the bridge. The driver lost control of the vehicle and it veered off the bridge. In the process, the railing of the bridge was damaged and the vehicle remained dangling on the edge of Jatamundia-Subarnapur bridge.
As the panic-stricken raised alarm for help, the residents of local Jatamundia village rushed to the mishap spot and immediately started a rescue operation. Later, the hanging bus was recovered by fire service personnel with the help of a crane.
Local Damapada tehsildar said the accident happened due to careless driving.
As per some passengers, the bus was moving at a great speed. As a result, the driver lost control over the vehicle and it veered off the bridge and ended up in a tilting position.
However, the driver of the bus Srikant Behera said that the accident happened due to a sudden mechanical failure in the steering wheel.
“We started from Angul at 7.45 am. We were supposed to reach Bhubaneswar around 12 pm. However, unfortunately, the accident happened on Jatamundia-Subarnapur bridge due to the sudden failure of the steering wheel. I tried my best to put on the break and luckily the bus remained in a hanging position off the bridge. God saved the lives of all of us. We are also very grateful to the local villagers who immediately came to our rescue and brought the trapped passengers outside through the windows,” said Behera.
