Koraput: One person died and more than 20 others were injured after an Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) bus veered off National Highway-26 at a sharp bend before plunging into a gorge and overturning in Sunki area of Koraput district in the early hours of Saturday, police said.The deceased has been identified as Jambab Bihari (40), a resident of Balagaon village under Kalampur block of Kalahandi district. He was rescued in a critical condition and rushed to Pottangi community health centre (CHC), where doctors declared him dead during treatment, said police.According to the police, the bus, carrying 25 passengers, was en route from Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district to Visakhapatnam in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, when the accident occurred around 2am, about 3km away from Sunki police station.Sunabeda subdivisional police officer (SDPO) Sumitra Jena said a police team rushed to the spot immediately after receiving information about the accident around 2am. “Fire personnel from Jeypore and Semiliguda later joined us. Due to darkness, and the bus having plunged nearly 40 feet down the ghat, the rescue operation was extremely challenging,” she said, adding one of the passengers had got trapped under the bus.The injured were initially shifted to Pottangi CHC, where Bihari succumbed to his injuries and four critically injured passengers were referred to SLN Medical College and Hospital, while two others were taken to Visakhapatnam through private arrangements, police said.Preliminary investigation suggests that the bus did not collide with any other vehicle or roadside object, the SDPO said, adding that both the drivers of the night express bus are being questioned to ascertain the exact cause of the accident.Passenger Bhagirathi Bag, who was seated in the front row, however, claimed the accident occurred because the driver apparently had dozed off.
