Racing between buses claims 2 lives

Two persons were killed and 12 including two women were injured when a mini bus side turned on Howrah Bridge on Friday while racing with another mini bus of the same route.

Police said that the ill-fated Kolkata-bound mini bus on Malipanchghara-Sealdah route was found racing with another bus of the same route.

After speaking to people, who witnessed the incident and those are injured, the police came to know that both the buses were racing from Golabari in Howrah onwards to get more passengers.

Both the drivers drove the vehicles recklessly even on Howrah Bridge. Speed of both the buses was high when one of the buses overtook another on Howrah Bridge.

The mini bus that fell behind attempted to overtake the one which was in front of it and the driver accelerated its speed.

The driver, somehow, became nervous finding policemen at the eastern end of Howrah Bridge and applied brakes with a plan not to overtake the other bus on the same route when suddenly, it side turned after losing control.

The bus was almost packed during the morning office hours and the incident that took place on the busy Howrah Bridge at 10.58 am caused panic among the people in the area.

Besides those performing duty at the spot, policemen from North Port police station went to the spot and initiated the rescue work. Officers of the city police's Disaster Management Group (DMG) also went to the spot and joined the rescue work. The windscreen and window panes of the mini bus were damaged.

The police and DMG officers brought all the passengers out of the bus. Fourteen people of the mini bus were found injured and they were taken to Calcutta Medical College and Hospital.

Doctors declared two of them — Ganesh Ganguly (26) and Jahindar Singh (45) – brought dead when taken to the hospital.

Police came to know that Ganesh was a resident of Golabari in Howrah and Jahindar was a resident of Bantra in Howrah. They were heading to their offices in the mini bus. Their family members have been informed.

Nine persons including the conductor of the mini bus Bapi Manna were admitted to the hospital where they are undergoing treatment. Three persons were treated and discharged.

The incident led to major traffic congestion in the morning office hours. After rescuing the passengers, the police removed the bus using a crane and took it to the nearest police station.

The accident took place at such a location that there was no space left for the Kolkata-bound vehicles. Vehicles were found standing in long queues on Howrah Bridge.

The police took all necessary steps to remove the side turned mini bus as early as possible and the police managed to clear the road to allow smooth movement of vehicles.