Five police personnel were killed and three others were battling for life following a head-on collision between their vehicle and a stone chips-laden truck on National Highway 49 in Odisha’s Jharsuguda district in the wee hours of Sunday (February 22, 2026).Eight police personnel were returning from the marriage of a police constable in Rengali area under Lakhanpur police station, when the accident that took place in front of the Jharsuguda Sadar Police Station. It was severe enough that five police personnel died on the spot.Locals and police personnel recovered accident victims from the mangled vehicle and rushed to Jharsuguda District Headquarter Hospital.Senior police officers rushed to hospital to assess the situation. The truck driver has been detained, and the vehicle has been seized as police have launched an investigation into the incident.Published - February 22, 2026 08:53 am IST