Bhubaneswar, Dec 18 (IANS): A total of seven persons died in two separate incidents of road accidents in Sundargarh and Kalahandi districts of Odisha on Sunday, police said.

In the first incident, members of three families of Sundargarh town were returning home in an auto rickshaw after reportedly meeting a common family friend on Sunday afternoon when a sand-laden truck coming from the opposite direction rammed into them at Telendihi near the town.

Both fell down to a 10-foot-deep roadside field.

Five persons died on the spot while two others - a 14-year-girl and the truck driver - sustained serious injuries.

Following the incident, angry locals staged a road blockade for several hours demanding compensation for the deceased persons.

In another incident, two bike riders died while their pillion riders sustained severe injuries after a head-on collision of their motorcycles in Koksara police station area of Kalahandi district on Sunday.

The pillion riders were rushed to a nearby Community Health Centre where they are undergoing treatment.