17 injured as Delhi-bound bus overturns on near Dalit Prerna Sthal on Noida e-way

There were 29 people on board at the time of the incident. “Of these, a total of 17 -- 10 men, five women, and two girls, sustained injuries,” an officer said

Noida: At least 17 people, including a one-and-a-18-month-old girl, sustained injuries after a Delhi-bound private sleeper bus rammed into a divider and overturned near Dalit Prerna Sthal on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway early Sunday, police said, adding that prima facie it appears the driver dozed off.

One of the girls, who is aged 18, is grievously injured and undergoing treatment at the Delhi hospital, said Amit Kumar Khari, station house officer (SHO), Phase 1, Noida. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Both the driver and conductor are on the run, it added.

According to officials, the bus, with 29 people on board, had left Farrukhabad on Saturday around 7.30 pm for Delhi. “On Sunday, around 5.15 am, when it reached a few metres ahead of the Mahamaya Flyover near Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal, it rammed into a divider and overturned. The collision was so intense that the front wheel of the bus came off,” said an officer part of the investigation while requesting anonymity.

“A team rushed to the spot after being informed on the emergency helpline number 112 and assisted locals who were already helping with the rescue. Subsequently, the injured were taken to the Sector 39 district hospital, from where many of them were referred to Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital, where they are undergoing treatment,” the officer added.

There were 29 people on board at the time of the incident. “Of these, a total of 17 -- 10 men, five women, and two girls, sustained injuries,” said the officer.

One of the girls, who is aged 18, is grievously injured and undergoing treatment at the Delhi hospital, said Amit Kumar Khari, station house officer (SHO), Phase 1, Noida.

Preliminary investigation found that the bus dropped off a passenger a few kilometres before the Mahamaya Flyover on the Noida Expressway. “As the bus crossed the Mahamaya Flyover, the driver is suspected to have dozed off and crashed into a median. After the incident, the driver and the conductor, however, fled the spot. Efforts are on to trace them,” the SHO said, adding four to five people were under treatment at the Delhi hospital till evening while others were discharged.

One of the injured, Sharik Khan, 26, a resident of Farrukhabad, was travelling to Delhi. His relative, Amir (single name), told HT, “My brother was on a visit to my home in Delhi. I called him at 5am. But as he was asleep, he did not answer the call. Later, around 7.30 am, he called me from the hospital and informed me about the accident.”

“He sustained multiple injuries, including to his head. According to him, he went unconscious while sleeping when the bus crashed on the Expressway. He regained consciousness in a hospital bed around 7.30 am, after which he called us,” he said, adding, “By the time I reached, the other injured had been referred to a Delhi hospital.”

Police said no case has been registered yet, and further investigation is underway.