Koraput: Three persons died after the scooter they were travelling on crashed into an electric pole while coming down the ghat road from Rameswar Shaiv Peeth atop Shefali Hill near Gunupur town in Rayagada district on Friday night. The deceased were Shashmita Panda (33), a dance instructor and contractual employee at Kendriya Vidyalaya in Gunupur, Somnath Das (55), an auditor from Rajkanika in Kendrapara district, and Sukumar Bhuyan (40) from Kolkata.According to police, the trio visited the Rameswar Shaiv Peeth and was returning when the scooter reportedly suffered a brake failure on the steep ghat road. The rider lost control of the vehicle, said KKBK Kanhar, IIC of Gunupur police station.
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The impact threw all occupants onto the roadside, leaving them critically injured. Personnel from Gunupur fire services and the 108 ambulance reached the spot, rescued the victims and shifted them to the Gunupur sub-divisional hospital. Doctors declared Somnath Das dead at the hospital. Shashmita Panda was referred to Paralakhemundi Medical College and Hospital, where she later died. Sukumar Bhuyan, who was initially shifted to Bhubaneswar for specialised treatment after receiving primary care at the Gunupur hospital, died too.
