Mumbai: Four persons, including three women, died while 29 others were left injured, some critically, when a BEST bus suddenly sped up and rammed into five-six autorickshaws, 10 bikes, and around 10 pedestrians on S G Barve Road, Kurla (W), on Monday evening around 9.30pm before coming to a stop inside a housing colony. The toll could go up due to the gravity of the accident, said the police. The driver, Sanjay More (43), who claimed it was a brake malfunction, has been arrested.
Some locals said the accident’s impact “resembled a terror attack”, causing widespread panic. A large crowd gathered, necessitating Quick Response Team (QRT) and Rapid Action Force (RAF) deployment to control the situation.
The cause of the accident is uncertain — whether it was due to mechanical failure or human error — said police sources. Cops have taken custody of the bus now and will call in RTO experts and BEST engineers to examine the vehicle. The vehicle involved was an electric AC wet lease bus operated by a driver appointed by a private contractor.
The deceased have been identified as Shivam Kashyap (18), Kaniz Fatima (55), Afeel Shah (19) and Anam Sheikh (20).
Joint commissioner of police Satyanarayan Choudhary himself was present at Kurla police station to interrogate the driver. Police said More was taken to J J Hospital for a medical test.
Police said the tragedy occurred at around 9.30pm outside White House building near BMC’s L ward office.
BEST sources said an inquiry is being conducted to ascertain if the accident was due to reckless and negligent driving. There are prima facie reports that it occurred due to brake failure, but this was being verified by a technical expert, a BEST official from the traffic division said.
RTO head Ravi Gaikwad said a team of experts has inspected the bus and will cooperate with Mumbai police in ascertaining the cause— whether any technical failure, brake failure or negligence on part of the driver.
Witnesses said the BEST bus of route number 332, which operates between Kurla and Andheri railway station, was fully occupied.
“First the bus hit an autorickshaw and then it went on to hit vehicles one after another till it crashed into the Ambedkar Colony gate and stopped. In the melee, it rammed into several pedestrians and hawkers. There was chaos as people did not understand what was happening. It was like a terror attack. An angry mob then chased the bus and caught hold of the driver and manhandled him until the police arrived,” said Kapil Singh, an eyewitness.
Witness Zaid Ahmed, a Kurla resident, said, “As I was leaving my house to head to the railway station, I heard a loud noise and saw that a BEST bus driver had hit several pedestrians, rickshaws, and cars.” Ahmed said they rescued some of the injured people trapped in a rickshaw. “We sent them to Bhabha Hospital in another rickshaw.” Sharique Ansari said his car was pushed for 100 metres before the bus halted.
Meanwhile, there was complete chaos at Bhabha Hospital, with hordes of relatives rushing in to find their kin. Police tried to control the crowd. Yakub Sayed, a resident of Ghatkopar, said his neighbour Fazlu was on the road with his wife and two-year-old granddaughter. “His granddaughter and wife are in Habib Hospital, while he is here. We have been told he has suffered a fracture in a shoulder.”
Kurla MLA Mangesh Kudalkar said efforts are on to save the injured and he will pursue the matter with govt for compensation to the kin of the deceased.
Locals blame civic officials for neglecting Kurla’s development. “Since BKC became a commercial hub and the start of SCLR, there is a huge crowd of people going towards Kurla station, though the size of the road is the same.” Authorities had to call an earth-mover and a crane to move the bus.
