Kendujhar: Three members of a family were killed, and one person sustained critical injuries after an SUV lost control and rammed into a roadside mango tree near Rajia in Champua area of Kendujhar district late on Wednesday night.
Trilochan Apat of Sijukala village developed severe stomach pain at around 10 pm and was being taken to Champua hospital in the SUV. Accompanying him were his wife Kaifula, son Ranjit and uncle Bhaskar. The driver reportedly lost control at high speed, causing the SUV to veer off the road and crash into a mango tree. Bhaskar died on the spot due to the impact, sources said.
Locals and Fire Services personnel reached the spot and rescued the three occupants trapped inside the damaged vehicle. They were first shifted to Champua Hospital. As their condition was critical, doctors referred them to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) in Kendujhar. However, Trilochan and his wife Kaifula succumbed to their injuries while being shifted to the hospital. Their son, Ranjit, was undergoing treatment at the DHH.
Champua police reached the accident site, seized the damaged vehicle and launched an investigation. Preliminary findings suggest that the SUV may have gone out of control due to overspeeding, though the exact cause of the accident is yet to be established.