Balasore: An accident on the national highway in Odisha’s Balasore district claimed the lives of a woman and her young son after iron plates loaded on a truck fell on them on Friday.

The deceased have been identified as Sambari Soren (25) and her six-year-old son, Saurabh Soren. Both were residents of Shyamsundarpur village under Nilgiri police limits in Balasore district.

According to reports, Sambari and her husband Vijay Soren were working as labourers in Paradip. After receiving information about a problem at home, Sambari, along with her son and another woman, took a lift in a truck loaded with iron plates on Thursday night to return to Balasore.

The accident occurred around 6 am near a speed breaker at Markona on the national highway. As the truck driver applied the brakes near the hump, the iron plates loaded at the rear reportedly slipped and fell on them.

Sambari and her son died on the spot due to severe injuries. Another woman travelling with them sustained critical injuries and has been hospitalised for treatment.

Police from Simulia station reached the spot soon after the incident, seized the truck, and initiated an investigation into the matter.