Two youths die as car falls off bridge

Naresh Chandra PattanyakKeonjhar: Two youths died and two others were severely injured after a car carrying four persons fell off a bridge near Rasol village on Brahmanipal-Harichandanpur-Keonjhar road in Keonjhar district on Thursday.The deceased were identified as Debabrat Das and Shivaswarup Rout, both 30 years old. The injured, Samaresh Swain (28) and Iswar Prasad Beura (27), were admitted in Bhagamunda hospital and later transffered to Keonjhar district headquarters hospital. All were residents of Amalapada village under Town police station in Dhenkanal district. According to sources, the accident took place at about 1 pm near Rasol Chowk under Daitari police station limits, when the four friends were going from Dhenkanal to Ghatagain to visit Maa Tarini temple.

Suddenly, the driver lost control and the car veered off the bridge, hitting the water below and drowning. Local people rushed to the spot and alerted the police station. On being informed, police and fire services personnelreached the spot and rescued them with the help of local people and took to Bhagamunda, where were declared dead. The injured were later shifted to the district headquarters hospital. Later, dead bodies were sent to Anandapur Sub-Division Hospital forpost-mortem. Police launched an investigation to ascertain the cause of the accident. “The car was seized and kept at thepolice station,” said SDPO Ghatagaon Bijay Krushna Mohapatra.