india

Updated: Mar 01, 2019 13:11 IST

Two personnel of Odisha State Armed Police were killed and 29 others sustained critical injuries on their way to an official programme of chief minister Naveen Patnaik after a bus carrying them collided head-on with a speeding truck in Odisha’s Jharsuguda on Friday morning, officials said.

Jharsuguda’s superintendent of police AK Mohanty said the bus carrying the policemen was going to Banharpalli from Jharsuguda when it collided with the truck coming from the opposite direction at around 6.30am.

“The jawans were on their way to Banharpalli where chief minister is scheduled to inaugurate two units of Odisha Power Generation Corporation today. Jawans Prashant Behera and Shankar Prasad Pant were killed on the spot. We have admitted the injured to the hospital,” Mohanty said.

The injured policemen have been admitted to TRL Hospital and Central Hospital Mandalia in Brajrajnagar.

Traffic movement on the national highway was affected after the accident.

Chief minister Patnaik expressed grief over the death of the two policemen and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved families. He also ordered free treatment of the injured men.