BHUBANESWAR/BALASORE: At least five school children were killed and four others seriously injured after a speeding truck run over them near the National Highway-16 at Rahanja in Bhadrak district on Thursday. The accident occurred at around 4.30 pm when the students of Ranitel High School were returning home on their bicycles.“It is a very unfortunate incident. An enquiry has been ordered and the culprits will be arrested soon. We will also see if the place was an accident black spot or not,” said transport minister Nrusingha Sahoo.The injured students were admitted to district headquarters hospital in critical condition. Later they have been shifted to Cuttack SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack when their health condition became critical.Tension gripped the area as angry mob torched the truck and staged road blockade demanding action against the culprits and compensation for the families. The driver and helper of the truck fled after the accident. The road blockades brought the traffic to a grinding halt on NH 16 that connects Chennai and Kolkata as hundreds of vehicles stranded on both side of the accident site.The deceased are identified as Satyabrata Barik, Kalpana Jena, Sweta Sahu, Priyambada Mohanty and Sukanta Sahu all are from Asura Hatasahi village of Bhadrak district. The injured students are Sital Sahu, Urbashi Sahu, Diptirekha Sahu, and Barsha Rani Mohanty. All are students of class-IX in Ranital High School in Bhadrak district.Bhadrak Collector Gyana Ranjan Das said the speeding 10-wheeler truck ran over the students when they were crossing the road at Rahanja on NH-16. However, locals alleged that the accident occurred due to rash driving by the truck driver. They also demanded construction of a service road in the stretch as the school is located along the NH and students cross the busy road by risking their lives daily.Expressing grief over the road accident and death of school children, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of the kin of the deceased. The injured students will be given free treatment.Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan expressed grief at the death of five school children in a road accident and wished speedy recovery of the injured student.Headmaster of the Ranital High School Nirmal Chandra Maity said, “Several times we have written to the various authorities to construct an underpass near the school as children are crossing the school in a dangerous condition, but no one paid a heed and the mishap occurred. We had also written to the government to shift the school to a safer place as it is located alongside the NH.” Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik expressed his condolence in the sad demise of school children and said lives of children in the state are unsafe. “The state government has been announcing many schemes but children in schools are not safe. The government must ensure safety of children at any cost.”Later in the night police resorted to lathi charge and fired tear gas to clear the road blockade at the admission spot. Irate mob pelted stone at the police personnel and ransacked police vehicles demanding written assurance from the district collector over increasing the amount of ex-gratia to Rs four lakh.

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