Tragedy / Tragic Fate: They were bringing home a body, but returned as bodies themselves

Balangir, Nov 10: What began as an act of kindness ended in unimaginable tragedy for a father and son from Odisha's Balangir district. While returning home in an ambulance carrying the body of a friend's father, the duo lost their lives in a devastating road accident in Nayagarh district.

The heart-rending incident has plunged Mursingh village under Deogaon block of Balangir district into grief, with three bodies arriving in the village on the same day.

According to reports, Pratap Bag, a resident of Mursingh village, had travelled to Bhubaneswar along with his son Tirtha Raj Bag, a Block Programme Manager (BPM) with the Subhadra Shakti programme in Deogaon and Gudvela blocks. Tirtha Raj had taken his ailing father to a private hospital in Bhubaneswar for medical examination and treatment.

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After the consultation, the father-son duo had reportedly booked train tickets to return home. However, circumstances changed when they learned that Ishwar Sahoo, the father of their friend Raju Sahoo from the same village, had died at the same hospital.

Seeing Raju struggling alone to take his father's body back home, Pratap and Tirtha Raj decided to accompany him in the ambulance transporting the mortal remains.

Tragically, the ambulance met with an accident near the Shalabhanga forest area on National Highway 57 in Daspalla, Nayagarh district. The vehicle reportedly crashed into a roadside divider, killing Pratap Bag, Tirtha Raj Bag and the ambulance driver on the spot.

Raju Sahoo sustained serious injuries and is currently undergoing treatment.

Adding to the sorrow, the ambulance was already carrying the body of Ishwar Sahoo. As a result, four lives were directly affected by the tragedy, with three deceased persons eventually reaching Mursingh village together.