12 killed as buses collide head-on in India

Twelve members of a marriage party were killed and seven others injured as their bus collided head-on with another bus in India’s Odisha, police said on Monday.

“The accident occurred late Sunday night near Ganjam district’s Digapahandi area on Berhampur-Taptapani road, around 35km from here, when the bus with the wedding party members on board collided with another passenger vehicle,” Berhampur Superintendent of Police (SP) Saravana Vivek M said.

After attending a wedding ceremony at Berhampur, they were returning to Khandadeuli near Digapahandi when the accident took place, NDTV reports.

A team of police personnel rushed to the spot and rescued the injured persons and shifted them to hospitals, the SP said.

The injured persons are undergoing treatment at MKCG Medical College and Hospital and Digapahandi Hospital, he said.

“Two of them have been shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital Cuttack,” the officer said.

Meanwhile, the special relief commission has sanctioned ₹30, 000 to each of the injured persons for their treatment.