Odisha blast toll rises to 8

With the recovery of another body on Thursday the death toll in a landmine blast triggered by suspected Maoists in Odisha's Koraput district has risen to eight, a police officer said.

The incident took place on National Highway 26 at Mungabhumi village on the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border, when the personnel were travelling in a van to Cuttack for training on Wednesday evening.

The body of Odisha State Armed Police (OSAP) official Tulasiram Majhi, who went missing after the blast, was found on Thursday morning.

Six of the other seven deceased identified so far are Arun Kumar Nayak, Ganesh Prasad Saha, Somanath Sisa, Sanjay Kumar Dash, Subarna Kumar Raj and Pradipta Kumar Rout.

"Even though nobody has claimed the incident so far, we strongly suspect this blast was triggered by the red rebels as it is a Maoist area," said Director General of Police K.B. Singh.

He said the other five injured were shifted to a hospital in Visakhapatanam in Andhra Pradesh.

Meanwhile, full state honours were given to the deceased jawans, in the presence of top senior officials at Koraput Parade ground on Thursday.

--IANS

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