Dharmasala: Two persons were critically injured after their bike was hit by a truck Thursday near Saroi chowk on NH- 16 under Dharmasala police limits in Jajpur district.
The injured have been identified as Tapas Tarei (32) and his wife Subhalakshmi Nayak (28), residents of Bant locality of Bhadrak district.
According to eyewitnesses, the mishap occurred at around 10:00am when the couple was travelling towards Bhubaneswar after crossing Bhadrak. A speeding truck hit the bike from the rear resulting in the accident.
The locals rushed to the spot and rescued the couple who were writhing in pain on the highway. They were immediately rushed to Badachana CHC, and later shifted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack after their conditions worsened.
The impact was so hard that both the two-wheeler and truck caught fire. On being informed the police officials along with Chandikhol fire brigade personnel reached the spot. The latter then doused the flames.
Following the accident, hundreds of vehicles were caught in a traffic snarl that lasted more than two hours throwing normal vehicular movement out of gear. It is slowly returning to normalcy at the time of writing this report.
Police have started an investigation into the accident. However, the driver of the truck has gone missing.
PNN