Jajpur (Odisha), Apr 15 (PTI) At least five persons, including a woman, died and around 40 others were injured after a Kolkata-bound bus fell from a bridge in Odisha's Jajpur district on Monday evening, police said.

The incident took place around 9 pm on Barabati bridge on National Highway-16, when the bus with 50 passengers was en route to Kolkata from Puri, they said.

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“Four men and a woman have died in the accident. Around 40 people are injured, and 30 of them are being taken to Cuttack SCB Medical College,” said Tapan Kumar Naik, Inspector in-Charge of Dharamshala Police Station.

Rescue operation is underway at the accident spot, he said.

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Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed grief over the deaths and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 3 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)