Bhubaneswar, Feb 11 (IANS): Six people died while many others sustained grievous injuries in two separate road accidents in Jharsuguda and Bhadrak districts in Odisha on Sunday.

“In the first incident, five people died in Jharsuguda district after a pickup van carrying at least 14 passengers including a two-month old baby going towards Belpahar area collided head-on with a speeding trailer coming from the opposite direction on National Highway-49 at Lakhanpur on Sunday morning. The accident was so severe that both the vehicles turned sideways following the collision,” said a police official.

The injured persons were rushed to the Community Health Centre (CHC), Lakhanpur by the locals present at the spot. Four persons were declared dead at the CHC while another person undergoing treatment at the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH), Jharsuguda succumbed to injuries later.

Meanwhile, a 38-year-old person died on the spot following a head-on collision between a SUV and a truck near Aradi Chowk in Bhadrak district in the wee hours on Sunday. As many as 10 persons including two minors were returning to their native at Gopalpur in Balasore district in Mahindra Bolero after having a darshan of Lord Jagannath at Puri, when the incident took place.

Three injured persons were undergoing treatment at the DHH, Bhadrak while six seriously injured have been shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack.