A horrific road accident claimed the life of a female forest worker and left 10 other labourers injured—four of them critically—after a high-speed truck rear-ended a sapling-laden tractor on National Highway 55 near Kansar village under the Jujumura police jurisdiction in Sambalpur district.
According to reports, the tractor was engaged by the Forest Department to transport tree saplings from the Jujumura nursery to the Badamal forest for a plantation drive. While en route, a speeding truck bearing registration number WB 29H 6283 violently crashed into the back of the tractor.
The impact was severe enough to knock the tractor off the road, while the truck mounted the highway divider before coming to a complete stop. Following the collision, the truck driver abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene.
Upon impact, the labourers riding on the tractor were thrown onto the highway, leaving them severely injured. The victims have been identified as male and female day labourers from the Mundapada hamlet in nearby Bhimkhoj village.
Receiving information about the accident, Jujumura Police Station Officer Anima Ekka, BDO Rajesh Ekka, and Tehsildar Prabhas Budayak rushed to the site. Local authorities, with the assistance of residents, carried out immediate rescue operations. The injured workers were rushed to the Sambalpur District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) in private vehicles for urgent medical treatment. Police have launched an investigation to track down the absconding driver.
