Twelve persons of a marriage party were killed and eight others injured when the minibus carrying them collided head-on with Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) bus at Digapahandi near Berhampur on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday.

Under the impact of the collision, the minibus overturned and its passengers were killed. The deceased included seven members of a family and their relatives. The deceased included six men, four women and two children. They were returning to their village Khandadeuli after attending a marriage feast in Berhampur. However, none of the passengers of the OSRTC bus, which was going towards Bhubaneswar from Gudari in the Rayagada district in southern Odisha, was injured.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Naveen Patnaik expressed their condolences and announced ex-gratia for the family members of the victims. While the state government would give Rs 3 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased, the family members of the deceased would receive Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF). The injured will receive Rs 50,000 from the PMNRF and the state government will provide them free medical treatment.

The injured have been admitted to the MKCG Hospital, Berhampur and SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack for treatment. On the direction of the chief minister, minister Bikram Keshari Arukh rushed to the spot to ensure that the injured received the best possible treatment.

The OSRTC bus was coming towards Bhubaneswar from Gudari in the Rayagada district while the minibus was going from Berhampur. Police suspect that the drivers of one of the two buses dozed off or had an inebriated state resulting in the accident.