6 electrocuted, 25 injured as bus touches high tension wire

Bhubaneswar, Sep 20 (PTI) At least six persons died and25 others suffered burn injuries when the bus carrying themcame in contact with a high tension electric wire in Odisha’sDhenkanal district today, a police officer said. The incident took place near Saraswati Sishu Mandir Chawkof Bhubana town. The bus was taking a detour due to a blockadeon the main road and came in contact with a dangling 11 KVlive wire, the officer said. Bodies of six persons were recovered from the bus, hesaid. Of the 25 injured, three have been shifted to the SCBMedical College Hospital in Cuttack as their conditiondeteriorated, the officer said. The bus was on way to Kamakshya Nagar from Cuttack withabout 45 passengers. Expressing grief over the tragedy, Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia for the next of the kinof the deceased and free treatment for the injured persons. Odisha’s Transport Minister Ramesh Chandra Majhi saidhe has asked the local RTO to probe into the matter and findout the circumstances in which the mishap took place. Energy Minister Pranab Prakash Das also asked theengineer-in-chief to probe into the matter after it wasalleged that the high tension electric wire was hanging belowthe stipulated height from the road. Ironically, the bus had been forced to take a detour aslocals were blocking the main road due to the death of a homeguard of Bhuban police station in an earlier road accident. The driver and other staff of the bus fled from the spotimmediately after the incident. Private Bus Owners Association spokesman Debasis Nayakblamed the driver of the bus for the mishap. "There should be no doubt about the callousness of thedriver which led to such a tragedy," Nayak said. PTI AAM SUSBSA