40 hurt after bus topples on NH-16 near Bagnan

kolkata: At least 40 passengers were injured after a Digha-bound bus toppled on the National Highway (NH)-16 near Bagnan in Howrah in the wee hours of Monday.

The injured passengers were rushed to Uluberia Sub Divisional Hospital from where five injured passengers were shifted to a hospital in Kolkata for better treatment.

According to sources, around 70 people from Ranaghat in Nadia were going to Digha.

They had started from Ranaghat late on Sunday night around 12:30 am.

Around 3:30 am, when the bus was moving through the Chandrapur area of Bagnan, driver lost control and it toppled. Hearing several people screaming for help, a few villagers from nearby village went to the spot and started rescuing the passengers. Police were also informed.

Local people and cops from Bagnan police station broke the back screen glass to rescue the passengers.

A few passengers among those who suffered minor injuries told the cops that all of them were sleeping when the accident took place. Cops suspect that the driver somehow had fallen asleep and thus lost control over the steering.

Due to the accident, a traffic congestion took place on the NH-16.

After almost one-and-half-hours of the accident, the bus was removed from the spot with the help of a crane.

However the driver and the helper managed to flee.