Jajpur: A person was killed after a passenger bus caught fire after hitting a motorcycle on NH 16, near Chhatia in Jajpur district on Monday.
The deceased has been identified as Balram Sahoo (33) of the Paramahansa area in Cuttack. He was an employee of a private finance company in Dhusuri in Bhadrak district. He was on his way to his village from Bhadrak when he met with an accident on Monday.
As per reports, the ‘Maa Sarala’ bus, travelling from Balasore to Cuttack, struck the motorcycle from the rear, on NH 16 leading to the fire. The bike rider died on the spot while, the bike was dragged under the bus for about a hundred meters. As a result, the bus caught fire. The bus suddenly started burning. Seeing this, the locals broke the glass at the back of the bus and rescued the passengers. While all the passengers on the bus were safely rescued, the bus was completely burnt. Some of the passengers’ belongings were also burnt.
On receiving the information, the fire brigade, Bari police station and Chhatia Beat House Police reached and brought the situation under control. The accident blocked the national highway for about two hours.
