Eight of family killed as van skids into canal

BHUBANESWAR - Eight members of a family, including six minor girls, were killed after their van skidded into a canal in Orissa’s Bargarh district Saturday evening, police said.

The mishap occurred near Sainya village, some eight km from the district headquarter town of Bargarh, when the family was returning from the house of a relative, police official Arjun Sahu told IANS by phone.

Ironically, the head of the family who was driving the vehicle had a miraculous escape. All the bodies have been retrieved from the canal, the official said.

Bargarh is located about 380 km from state capital Bhubaneswar.