Jajpur: A passenger bus caught fire after hitting a motorbike killing a motorbike rider near Chhatia in Odisha’s Jajpur district on early Monday morning. While the identity of the deceased is yet to be ascertained, he was on his way to Baripada.
According to reports, the passenger bus named ‘Chakadola’ was en route to Bhubaneswar from Baripada. It jumped a speed-breaker and hit the bike on National Highway No 16 near Chhatia and caught fire. A bike rider coming from the opposite direction on a bike was dragged for some distance and killed on the spot. On the other hand, passengers of the bus had a narrow escape as they were able to alight the vehicle before the fire could spread.
On being informed, a team from the Baria police station reached the spot and sent the bodies for autopsy. Till the time of writing this report, Fire Services personnel from Chandikhol reached the spot and are trying to douse the flame.
Traffic on the highway remained suspended for some time after the accident.
