Three youths lost their lives in a fatal road accident on Friday after a private bus collided head-on with a motorcycle near the Ranibandh locality in the Rairangpur area of Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district. The bus was reportedly travelling from Rairangpur to Keonjhar when the accident occurred on National Highway-220.
According to preliminary information, all three victims are believed to be residents of the Tiring area. Rescue teams recovered the bodies of two youths, while the third victim was initially trapped under the bus wheel. Efforts were made to extricate the body, and all remains were later sent to a nearby hospital for post-mortem examination.
Police have registered a case and initiated an investigation to determine the cause of the collision. The identities of the deceased were yet to be officially confirmed at the time of reporting. Local police officials, however, refrained from making detailed comments.
The incident comes amid growing concern over the alarming rise in road accidents across Odisha. As revealed earlier by Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhusan Jena in the State Assembly, nearly 15 people lose their lives in road mishaps every day in the state. Official data indicates an average of 31 road accidents daily, resulting in around 27 injuries.
Statistics further show that Odisha witnesses nearly five accidents every four hours, with three fatalities occurring almost every five hours. Over the past five years leading up to March 2025, the state recorded an annual average of more than 11,000 road accidents, claiming over 5,400 lives. Despite multiple road safety initiatives, experts argue that implementation remains weak, with measures often limited to reviews and meetings rather than on-ground enforcement.
