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Five school students have been killed while five more battle critical injuries in Odisha’s Bhadrak district after a speeding truck ran over them on Thursday.
Most of the students belonged to the ninth standard of a local school. Two boys and three girls were killed. While four students died on the spot, one girl died in a local hospital.
A school teacher, who claimed to be a witness, alleged that the driver was under the influence of psychotropics.
“He first hit two kids and then ran over the rest as he kept swerving on the road. The students were hit even though they were riding (bicycles) in single file on the correct side (of the road),” the teacher said.
It is not clear if the truck driver was apprehended or fled the spot.
Agitated locals from Ranital town in the district set fire to the truck and blocked NH-16. Bhadrak SP Batulla Gangadhar called it a “natural reaction” and assured the press that the “situation is under control”.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has announced Rs 2 lakh for families of the deceased and free treatment for the injured. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has tweeted his condolences.