In a tragic road accident, five young men lost their lives after a car carrying wedding guests plunged into a pond in Chatia village under Dhenkanal Sadar police limits late on Wednesday night.
According to police and local residents, the car was carrying seven youths who were travelling from Bangurusingh village under Motanga police station to Indipur village to attend a wedding procession. The accident occurred at around 2:30 am when the driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a bend, causing it to overturn and fall into a roadside pond.
Villagers rushed to the spot after hearing about the incident and launched a rescue operation. They broke open the car doors and managed to pull out the occupants from the submerged vehicle.
Five of the seven occupants died in the accident. The deceased have been identified as Chandrakanta Swain (driver), Abinash Sahu, Rakesh Sahu, Sriram Sahu, all residents of Bangurusingh village, and Abhijit Sahu of Siminai village. All the victims were reportedly between 20 and 25 years of age.
The two survivors, identified as Babul Sahu and Soumya Ranjan Sahu, both from Bangurusingh village, were rescued by locals and admitted to the Dhenkanal District Headquarters Hospital for treatment.
A local resident, Prakash Chandra Barik, said the vehicle was travelling at a high speed when it lost balance on a curved stretch of road before plunging into the pond. He said villagers immediately reached the spot and rescued the occupants by breaking open the car doors.
Police from Dhenkanal Sadar Police Station reached the accident site and recovered the submerged vehicle from the pond. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination and will be handed over to the families after the legal formalities are completed.
An investigation has been launched to determine the exact cause of the accident.