At least five people were killed and 40 others were injured when the bus they were travelling in, fell from a flyover in Odisha’s Jajpur district on Monday evening, police said.

“Four men and a woman have died in the accident. The driver lost control of the vehicle. The injured were taken to the Cuttack SCB Medical College,” said Tapan Kumar Naik, Inspector in-charge, Dharamshala police station.

The incident took place around 9pm on the Barabati bridge on National Highway-16. The bus was on its way from Puri to West Bengal’s Haldia.

Meanwhile, Transport Commissioner Amitav Thakur said that the rescue operation was over.

“We have formed a team of doctors. The injured are being brought to Cuttack in 16 ambulances. The bus was lifted with a crane,” he stated.

According to Nikhil Pavan Kalyan, Collector and District Magistrate (DM), Jajpur, rescue workers used gas cutters to cut through the metal and bring out the passengers, who were 47 in number.

Giving further information, Vinit Agarwal, Jajpur’s Superintendent of Police (SP), noted that the deceased were yet to be identified, adding that most passengers were from West Bengal.

Expressing grief, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced a compensation of ₹3 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased.

“I am saddened to know about the passenger bus accident in Barabati Street area of ​​Jajpur district. I pray for the deceased and express my condolences to their families. Also, I wish all the injured a speedy recovery,” Patnaik wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

(With PTI inputs)