Seven migrant workers returning to Nadia from Kerala were injured when a bus carrying 28 of them overturned and plunged into a ditch in Odisha’s Balasore on Saturday morning.

The bus had started off from Kerala on Thursday afternoon and was heading for Krishnagar, the Nadia headquarters.

Police said the accident occurred on NH16 at Nuagaon village ahead of a bridge when the driver apparently lost control and hit a guard wall before turning turtle around 6am.

The exact reason behind the accident, however, could not be ascertained. Preliminary investigations suggest that the driver had dozed off at the wheel.

A police team from nearby Balasore industrial police station rushed to the spot and rescued the injured passengers with the help of local people.

A police officer said: “The bus was speeding on NH16 in the Nuagaon-Mangalpur area of Balasore when the accident occurred. Luckily the vehicle fell into a dry ditch and most of the passengers managed to come out. The police, with the help of local residents, rescued the passengers and took to them to the Balasore district hospital.”

The Balasore sub-collector said: “Seven persons were injured in the accident but they are out of danger now. We have put them in another bus and sent them to Krishnagar in Nadia.”

Nadia district magistrate Vibhu Goel told The Telegraph: “We are in touch with the Balasore district administration and waiting for the return of the migrant workers.”

Sources said that since May 1, 13 road accidents have occurred in Odisha involving migrant workers. Five persons have died in these accidents.