Mumbai: 50 have miraculous escape as bus overturns

The MSRTC that overturned near Alibaug on Monday morning

About 50 passengers travelling on a state transport bus from Alibaug to Panvel had a fortunate escape after the bus overturned following a brake failure on Monday. At least three persons in the bus suffered injuries in the mishap. Police said the three passengers were treated for minor injuries and are safe.

According to the police, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus (MH-07 C 7398) travelling from Alibaug to Panvel overturned due to a broken axle at Karlekhind near Alibaug which comes under the jurisdiction of Poynad police station. The bus was carrying 45-50 passengers, but fortunately, there were no casualties. However, three passengers sustained minor injuries and were taken to the hospital by ambulance. The incident did not disrupt flow of traffic as the bus overturned on the edge of the road. A passenger travelling in the bus said, "The bus while navigating a turn collided somewhere. As the bus stopped suddenly, some of the passengers fell and were injured. More passengers could have been injured if the bus was speeding."

The Poynad police reached the spot and with the help of locals rescued the passengers. The passengers were shifted to the hospital and arrangements were made for another bus to take the passengers to Panvel. Santosh Darade, police inspector, Poynad police station said the incident took place around 8 am on Monday. "After we received information our team reached the spot and with the help of local people the injured were shifted to a local hospital. The injured passengers were discharged after treatment. Another bus was arranged to take the other passengers who were not injured to Panvel," said Darade.

Darade further said that the Poynad police have registered a case against the ST Bus driver for rash driving under the Motor Vehicle Act. "We have registered a case against the driver. The driver claimed that there was a brake failure resulting in the accident. The reason is not clear yet. We informed the RTO who are also investigating to ascertain the cause of the accident," said Darade.