Mumbai: 7 dead, 42 hurt as BEST bus driver loses control; brake failure suspected

Seven persons died and 42 were injured after a bus of the Mumbai’s civic transport body BEST rammed into pedestrians as well as vehicles on Monday (December 9) evening.

Police and municipal corporation officials suspect the accident near the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) L Ward in Kurla took place due to a brake failure. Even as experts examine the vehicle, police have registered a case on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against the driver.

The accident took place on SG Barve Marg in Kurla (West) around 9.30 pm on Monday. According to officials, the driver of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) bus on route number 332 lost control over the wheel and dashed into pedestrians as well as some vehicles.

The bus, after ploughing through pedestrians and vehicles, entered into a residential society, Buddha Colony, and came to a halt, they said.

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Some of the injured critical

Three persons were brought dead from the crash site to the nearby Bhabha Hospital, where 22 injured, including a teenage girl, were undergoing treatment, said the officials.

More injured people are undergoing treatment at Sion Hospital and Seven Hills Hospital, said an official, adding the condition of some of them was critical.

The injured included four on-duty police personnel. Multiple vehicles were damaged in the accident.

The bus, bearing the registration number MH01-EM-8228, was reportedly going from Kurla railway station to Andheri when the accident occurred.

“It dashed into various vehicles over a 100-metre stretch and the RCC column of Solomon building. The windows of the bus broke on impact. Locals roughed up the driver,” an official said. The driver, Sanjay More, was subsequently taken into custody.

He was taken to a hospital for a medical test. His blood samples were also collected to examine whether he was under the influence of alcohol, an official said.

The police have registered a case against the bus driver under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and relevant provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act.

Eyewitness account

Zeeshan Ansari, an eyewitness, said “I was standing in front of Royal Sweets shop along with my friends when I saw a bus being driven rashly. The bus suddenly dashed into multiple vehicles as well as pedestrians and entered Buddha Colony. We rushed and brought out the bus driver.”

He added that many people were lying in a pool of blood. “A crowd assembled at the spot and started moving the injured to hospital,” Ansari said.

Zaid Ahmed, a 26-year-old resident of the area, said he was leaving his house to go to the railway station when he heard a loud noise.

“I ran to the spot and saw a BEST bus had hit pedestrians, other vehicles, including an autorickshaw and three cars. I saw some dead bodies in front of my eyes. We rescued the passengers in the autorickshaw and took them to Bhabha Hospital in another three-wheeler. My friends also helped in providing relief to the injured,” Ahmed recounted.

Other eyewitnesses said the bus, on route 332 from Kurla to Andheri, also rammed into a police vehicle.

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Details yet to be revealed

BEST Public Relations Officer Sudas Sawant confirmed the incident but did not share details.

“Kindly note that complete details of the accident are being collected by the Bus Control Room and will be communicated once available,” he said in a WhatsApp message.

The bus was a 12-metre-long electric vehicle manufactured by Hyderabad-based Olectra Greentech and it had been taken by BEST on wet lease, another official said. He pointed out that the drivers of such buses are supplied by the private operator.

“The bus is just three months old. It is registered on August 20 this year in the name of a company called EVEY Trans,” a Tardeo Regional Transport Office (RTO) official said.

BEST officials said they were having trouble with the probe due to the crowd at the site.

A police official said heavy deployment of personnel has been made at the site to maintain law and order.

(With agency inputs)