Keonjhar/Cuttack: Five people were killed in two road accidents in Odisha during Holi celebrations Saturday, police said. In the first incident, three members of a family were mowed down by a speeding truck in Keonjhar district. The accident occurred near Dolita Chhak, close to Champua Police Station, in the morning hours when the truck hit them, a senior officer said. The deceased were identified as Ivan Pradhan, his wife Mathamani Pradhan and their son Mangal Pradhan, he said. They hailed from Sanani village in the Champua region. The accident occurred when they were on their way to the residence of Pradhan’s son-inlaw to celebrate Holi, the officer said. “While Pradhan died on the spot, his wife succumbed to her injuries at Champua hospital and Mangal breathed his last when he was being shifted to Keonjhar,” he said.
In the other incident, at least two youths were killed and another was injured in an accident that took place in Sitarampur area under the Narasinghpur Police Station limits in Cuttack district, another officer said. The accident occurred on the Narasinghpur-Kamaladiha main road when their two-wheeler hit a roadside electric pole, he said. They were returning home after celebrating Holi when the accident took place, the police said.