Public road accident

At least six persons, including two children, were killed and four others injured on Friday morning after a speeding passenger bus rammed into an overloaded autorickshaw from behind near Ladkapalli Chhak in Odisha’s Ganjam district, police said.
The autorickshaw was carrying around 10 passengers from Erendra village in Chikiti block. The group was on its way to the Singhasani shrine in Polsara for a pilgrimage when the accident took place.
According to police officers, the passenger bus, allegedly moving at high speed, hit the autorickshaw from behind and dragged the three-wheeler for several metres before coming to a halt.
Three passengers died on the spot, while the injured were pulled out of the mangled vehicle by local residents with assistance from police and fire services personnel and taken to the Kodala Community Health Centre for treatment. However, three more passengers died during treatment, taking the toll to six. Police are yet to identify the deceased.
Four persons are receiving treatment and are reportedly in critical condition.
Police have sent the bodies for postmortem and launched an investigation into the incident.
The bus driver allegedly fled the spot soon after the crash, and efforts are underway to trace and apprehend him. Both the passenger bus and the damaged autorickshaw have been seized, police said.