Bhubaneswar, Jan 25 (IANS) Nine people - all on their way to hospital for cataract surgeries - were killed Monday when their vehicle collided with a truck in Orissa’s Bolangir district.
Ten people were seriously injured in the accident in Kandagada, some 20 km from the district headquarters.

“Five people died on the spot, two died when they were being taken to hospital and two succumbed to their injuries in hospital,” Bolangir district’s chief medical officer P.C. Sahu said.

Of the ten injured, three were described to be in critical condition and all of them have been shifted to Veer Surendra Sai (VSS) Medical College and Hospital.

“Most of the injured have received head injuries and three of them are in critical condition. We have shifted all of them to VSS Medical College,” Sahu added.

The group of elderly villagers from three villages - Mermunda, Baintala and Puintala - were on their way to a hospital in neighbouring Sonepur district, when the truck they were travelling in swerved to avoid an oncoming biker, leading to the accident.

Following the accident, irate villagers blocked the Sonepur-Bolangir road, hitting traffic for a few hours. However, the district administration later persuaded them to lift the blockade.