On way back from wedding in Delhi, bus crashes into truck; 19 injured

At least 19 members of a family, including four women and a child, were injured when a bus carrying them back from a wedding celebration allegedly rammed a truck in southwest Delhi’s Cantonment

At least 19 members of a family, including four women and a child, were injured when a bus carrying them back from a wedding celebration allegedly rammed a truck in southwest Delhi’s Cantonment area early on Tuesday, police said.

The bus was carrying about 30 people who were trapped inside till passersby broke the windows to rescue them. (Sushil Kumar/HT Photo)

Seven people received severe injuries in the accident. Lakshmi Devi (54), Lakshmi (45), Upasna (34) and Moksha (eight months) were admitted in AIIMS Trauma Centre. Meena (50), Radheshyam (55) and Sajid (30) were rushed to Ganga Ram Hospital, the family said.

The accident took place around 1.50 am at the intersection point of Thimayya Marg and Cariappa Marg, when over 30 occupants in the bus were returning to groom Manish Gupta’s house in Lajpat Nagar from west Delhi’s Mayapuri.

The impact of the collision was such that the bus overturned at the traffic intersection. The drivers abandoned their vehicles and fled. Locals brought the victims out of the bus and called the police.

Those who were trapped inside the bus recall that when the vehicle overturned, every item and every person fell on one side. “It was so sudden that at first I didn’t understand what had happened. The collision had numbed my senses. Then the screaming began,” said Shweta Agarwal, Manish’s distant relative. She was sitting in the second row inside the bus and escaped unhurt.

Agarwal added that there were at least 20 women and 10 children in the bus.

“The marriage ceremony was going to last all night and children were half asleep already. As our work was over, we decided to go home with the kids and boarded the bus around 1am,” Agarwal said.

Deputy commissioner of police (southwest), Surender Kumar, said the injured are out of danger and efforts are on to nab the drivers.

“Both vehicles were speeding. The truck was behind the bus and the accident occurred when the bus driver turned left and hit the truck. Both vehicles have been taken into possession and a case has been registered at Delhi Cantt police station. The drivers of the truck and the bus are absconding. They will be nabbed soon,” Kumar said.