Keonjhar: At least two persons were killed and three others sustained critical injuries in separate mishaps on National Highway-20 near Gopalpur under Keonjhar Sadar Police Station area in Keonjhar district last night.
In the first accident in the midnight, a head-on crash took place between a car and a truck on the highway. At least three persons boarding the car turned critical on the spot post the mishap and were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
A few minutes later, two goods-laden truck crashed head-on a few yards away from the accident spot killing both the drivers. The impact of the accident was so intense that the deceased duo remained trapped inside the mangled vehicles for hours before being recovered by fire services personnel in a Herculean effort of four hours.
Keonjhar Sadar Police have rushed the bodies of the deceased for the autopsy to a hospital.
Locals have blamed the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for the accident pointing at the tardy progress of road repairing and construction work.
Ms Kalinga