Six people were killed after a speeding BEST bus rammed into pedestrians and other vehicles in Mumbai's Kurla on Monday. Over 43 people were injured in the accident that happened around 9:30 pm.
According to authorities, the driver of the bus, identified as Sanjay More, lost control of the vehicle while plying from Kurla station to Sakinaka. The bus, filled with people, dashed into the pedestrians and dragged nearby vehicles. It then rammed into a residential society, Buddha Colony, before coming to a halt.
While authorities are yet to establish the reason for the accident, speculations are that the vehicle's brake failed. Kurla MLA and Shiv Sena MLA Dilip Lande, who visited the spot, said the brakes of the bus failed after it left the Kurla station. On sensing this, the driver panicked and accidentally accelerated the vehicle, causing it to gain more speed. This caused him to lose control, after which it hit the pedestrians and other vehicles.
CCTV footage from the location also showed the bus veering towards the left side of the road. The speed was such that sparks were visible underneath the vehicle. Onlookers were seen running away as the bus zoomed past them.
At least three people died and 25 others were injured after #Mumbai's civic transport body #BEST's bus hit pedestrians and vehicles in the city's #Kurla area on Monday.
— Hate Detector 🔍 (@HateDetectors) December 9, 2024
“25 people have been injured. Out of these, three were brought dead,” a staff nurse at Kurla Bhabha Hospital… pic.twitter.com/rIk2aIJDDl
Besides over 10 pedestrians, the bus hit five to six autorickshaws and 10 motorcycles. Eyewitness said many couldn't comprehend what was happening in the melee, which resembled "a terror attack". An autorickshaw was trapped under the bus but the people trapped inside were rescued.
#WATCH | Kurla Bus Accident | Mumbai, Maharashtra: Forensic team reaches the spot where a BEST bus lost control yesterday and rammed into multiple vehicles, killing 4 people and injuring 25 pic.twitter.com/4jKMCCrLKM
— ANI (@ANI) December 10, 2024
Deputy Commissioner of Police Ganesh Gawade too told reporters that the accident occurred after the driver lost control of the vehicle. "The driver has been detained by the police and the process of registering a case is underway," Gawade said. He, however, refused to answer whether the driver was drunk. "We will provide information on this after the investigation," he added.
However, questions are raised over how a bus, inducted into the BEST fleet just two months ago, suffered a brake failure. The 12-metre-long bus was under the jurisdiction of Kurla Depot. The electric vehicle was manufactured by Hyderabad-based Olectra Greentech and it had been taken by BEST on wet lease. The contract for providing the driver was with the Pune-based Morya Trans India Private Limited company.
Tardeo Regional Transport Office (RTO) official confirmed that the bus was only three months old. He added that the BEST officials were facing difficulty in investigating due to the crowd at the scene.
