Raighar: Three persons including two women were killed and eight others injured in a truck-auto collision near Jodenga under Raighar police station limits in Nabarangpur district on Sunday.
According to sources, the vehicles dashed into each other head-on this afternoon at Jodenga on State Highway 40 connecting Chhattisgarh.
Reportedly, all the passengers are from Chhattisgarh. The Raigarh police have started an investigation and the health department has sent the critical person to the district headquarters hospital for further treatment after first aid.
As per reports, an auto-rickshaw carrying about 10 passengers was returning to Odisha on the route when a truck moving towards Chhattisgarh dashed into the three-wheeler near Jodenga Forest Department Office.
The collision was so intense that all the passengers sitting in the auto were thrown out and landed with multiple injuries. Residents, the health department and the police administration with joint efforts admitted all the victims to the nearby Jodenga Primary Health Center.
All the passengers from Chhattisgarh were members of three families and were visiting their relatives at the tragedy struck them. Â The deceased persons have been identified as Pawan Tandon (40) of Baniadihi village under Borei police station of Chhattisgarh, Chanda Gaikwad (40) of Nagari village and Punab Vaisnaw (15) of Chipili village.
Among the eight injured are auto driver Gopal Harijan, and a 5-year-old boy child Jugal  Kishore Sen, Prafulla Sen, Lakshmi Sen, Jagat Ram Kosharia, Ruppan Bai Kosharia and Urvashi Vaisnaw, who has been shifted to Nabarangpur as her condition is critical.
Soon after, a police team led by Raigarh IIC Raghunath Majhi reached and seized the dead bodies and the mangled vehicles from the spot.
The three dead bodies have been brought to Raigarh Primary Health Centre and the postmortem will be done tomorrow, the police said, adding that an investigation is underway into the accident.
