Two devotees died and over a dozen were injured after the private bus in which they were returning after a 'darshan' of Lord Shiva at Gupteswar met an accident near Siribeda in Koraput district today, the police said.
While one of the deceased, identified as Uttam Jena, was a school teacher, the other was Madan Hantal, the police said.
After preliminary treatment, the injured were shifted to Jeypore and Koraput hospital as condition of five of them were serious.
The incident took place around 1 pm after one of the front tyres of the bus burst near Siribeda situated at a distance of about 60 km from here.
"There were around 40 devotees in the bus and all were residents of Poplur in Malkangiri district. By hiring a private bus they had reached Gupteswar on Thursday evening and after completing darshan they were returning to their village," the police said.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik condoled the death and announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia each to the next of the kin of the deceased persons. Patnaik also announced free treatment for the injured.
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