Jagatsinghpur: At least eight people, including a minor girl, were killed in an autorickshaw-truck collision on Jagatsinghpur-Machhagaon road near Chandol Chhak on Saturday morning.
Seven of the eight deceased have been identified. They are Surendra Das, Bholi Jena, Sarat Mohanty, Dhaneswar Sahu, Chandra Sahu, Sudhir Behera and Jageswani Behera.
All of them are said to be the residents of Singitalia village in Machhagaon area of the district.
The road mishap took place when the deceased, along with some others, were returning home in an auto-rickshaw after attending Deba Snana Purnima rituals at Nemala in Cuttack.
The collision was so severe that seven people died on the spot and three others were injured critically. The auto-rickshaw was also damaged completely.
The injured were initially admitted to Jagatsinghpur district headquarters hospital and later shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack as their condition deteriorated. However, one of them succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment at the SCB.
Locals staged a road blockade after the accident demanding compensation for the families of the deceased and arrest of the truck driver, who fled the spot after the accident.
Police have started investigation into the incident.
Ms Kalinga