Mumbai: At least four people died and nine were injured when a Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) bus reversed into passengers who had queued up to catch a bus outside the Bhandup railway station at 10.05pm on Monday.
According to preliminary reports, the driver, 52-year-old Santosh Ramesh Sawant, was trying to take a U-turn to go into the adjacent bus depot when he accidentally pressed the accelerator instead of the brakes, and rammed into the queue. “I heard the sound of a huge crash and ran out of my shop to see some people lying injured on the road; the bus too had been damaged,” said Bholanath Gupta who runs a farsan shop next to the bus depot.
The shop owners in the vicinity were among the first responders. Dinesh Jain, who owns a shop opposite the Bhandup bus stop, said that he had just stepped out of his shop for some work when he suddenly saw a bus ram into people and climb onto the footpath. “We all immediately rushed to help, pulled out some of the injured, and gave them water.” he said.
Bhagwandas, who runs a sweet shop on the same road, said they also called an ambulance and the police. Some of the injured were made to sit inside the shop and were given water, while help was provided to inform their families. The police and other emergency agencies reached the spot in a short time, he said.
{{/usCountry}}Bhagwandas, who runs a sweet shop on the same road, said they also called an ambulance and the police. Some of the injured were made to sit inside the shop and were given water, while help was provided to inform their families. The police and other emergency agencies reached the spot in a short time, he said.
{{/usCountry}}The 9-metre air-conditioned Olectra bus that the BEST has been running on wet-lease plies on the 606 Ring Road route that goes from Nagardas Nagar to Bhandup station, confirmed a BEST spokesperson. An officer from the Bhandup police station said the lane right outside the Bhandup railway station is one of the most congested in the suburb with hawkers occupying most of the path, leaving no option for pedestrians but to walk on the road. “BEST passengers who queue up have no place and are forced to stand on the crowded road. There is a skywalk for pedestrians,” he added, “but few people take it as both the bus stand and the auto stand are right under it.”
Santosh Shelar, who regularly travels by the 606 bus from Bhandup station to Narth Nagar Ayush, said he usually reaches Bhandup between 9.45pm and 9.50pm. However, on Tuesday his train was delayed and he reached around 10.05pm, minutes after the accident. “I am shocked by what I saw there.” Shelar added that until about a month ago, a mini bus used to operate on this route and that it was only recently replaced with a new air-conditioned bus.
Deputy commissioner of police zone 7, Hemraj Rajput, confirmed that the driver has been taken into custody and added that five of those seriously injured have been taken to Fortis Hospital. Among the deceased, he said, there were three females and one male.
For the financially strapped undertaking, Monday’s accident is the second over two consecutive Decembers. Last year, on December 9, a BEST bus had rammed into passengers at Kurla, killing 9 and injuring 37. That accident had raised serious concerns over passenger safety as it turned out that the driver was not sufficiently trained to drive an electric bus. By his own admission , he was used to driving a bus with manual transmission and had been told to switch to an electric bus after only three training sessions. The driver and executives of the company that wet-leased the bus to the BEST have been charge sheeted.