Five persons, including two women, were charred to death and 38 others injured when a bus carrying them dashed against a tree and caught fire in Bolangir district in the early hours of the day, police said.
The passenger bus from Bhubaneswar was proceeding towards Sinapalli in Nuapada when the mishap took place near Puintala near Bolangir.
The injured were admitted to Bolangir District Headquarters Hospital and two of them were later shifted to VSS Medical College and Hospital at Burla in a critical condition, police said.
Three persons were killed and five others injured in yet another road accident in Sonepur district when a jeep dashed against a roadside tree after losing balance at a sharp turn in Ulunda area in the wee hours.
The mishap took place when the victims were returning to a village in Bolangir district after attending a marriage in Jujumura in Sambalpur district, the police said.