Odisha: Six Killed in Horrific Bus and Autorickshaw Collision in Ganjam

The structural challenges of road safety on regional highways have resurfaced following a catastrophic collision in southern Odisha. A devastating Ganjam road accident has left six people dead and four others fighting for their lives after a private passenger bus collided with a crowded autorickshaw. The horrific crash took place on Friday, May 22, 2026, near Ladkapalli Square under the Purushottampur police limits.

The victims, predominantly belonging to an extended family layout, were traveling from Soral Road Erendra toward the local Maa Singhasini shrine to attend an ongoing festival. What was intended to be a peaceful religious pilgrimage ended in absolute ruin within moments, sending shockwaves through the local community and highlighting the persistent hazards of high-speed commercial traffic on narrow curved roads.

The Mechanics of the Crash: A 40-Foot Impact

According to tracking updates compiled by the local authorities, the ill-fated autorickshaw was navigating a sharp curve near Ladkapalli village when a private passenger bus traveling from Angaragada toward Berhampur struck it. Local eyewitness accounts indicate that the bus driver was operating the vehicle at a breakneck speed, leading to a complete loss of directional control.

The physical force of the Odisha bus auto collision was exceptionally severe. Upon impact, the passenger bus mowed down the light three-wheeler, dragging the mangled frame across the asphalt for nearly 40 feet before veering off the road and slamming directly into a roadside tree. The passengers inside the autorickshaw were instantly pinned under broken metal pillars and shattered panels.

Immediate Rescue Operations and Casualties

Recognizing the extreme scale of the accident, residents from surrounding villages rushed to the scene to pull victims from the smoking wreckage. Local emergency crews, including fire service personnel and officers from the Purushottampur Police Station, arrived shortly after to execute technical extraction procedures using specialized metal cutters.

The casualties extracted from the vehicle include six individuals who were either killed instantly or succumbed to their internal trauma shortly after arriving at the Kodala health centre. Authorities have verified the identities of the deceased passengers as:

• Malli Behera (75 years old)

• Narasingha Behera (43 years old)

• Ratani Behera (46 years old)

• Nilabati Behera (45 years old)

• Kiran Behera (10-year-old minor)

• Sneha Behera (10-year-old minor)

Four remaining passengers who sustained critical head injuries and multiple fractures were given immediate emergency stabilization at the local clinic. Due to their deteriorating vitals, they were quickly transferred via advanced life-support ambulances to the MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur for intensive trauma care.

State Intervention and Legal Consequences

The tragic development prompted immediate administrative actions from top state leadership. Expressing profound grief over the loss of innocent lives, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi extended his heart-wrenching condolences to the affected families. Acting swiftly under administrative welfare guidelines, the Chief Minister announced a Mohan Charan Majhi compensation package totaling Rs 4 lakh from the state relief funds to be distributed to the next of kin of each deceased individual.

On the legal front, the Purushottampur police have officially registered an active criminal case under statutory provisions governing reckless driving and culpable negligence. While the bus driver initially fled the immediate vicinity amid the post-crash chaos, he later surrendered to authorities along with the impounded commercial vehicle. Investigators have moved all bodies for mandatory post-mortem examinations as part of the broader administrative inquiry into highway speed violations across the district.