3 dead 17 injured as BEST bus hits pedestrians vehicles in Mumbai after 'brake failure'

Mumbai, Dec 9 (PTI) Three persons died and 17 others were injured after a bus of the Mumbai's civic transport body BEST rammed into pedestrians as well as vehicles on Monday night, police and municipal corporation officials said.

It is suspected the accident near the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) L Ward in Kurla took place due to a brake failure, they said, adding the bus driver has been detained.


According to the officials, the driver of the BEST bus on route number 332 lost control over the wheel and dashed into pedestrians as well as some vehicles.


The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking's bus, after ploughing through pedestrians and vehicles, entered into a residential society, Buddha Colony, and came to a halt, they said.

Three persons were brought dead from the crash site to nearby Bhabha Hospital, where 17 injured were undergoing treatment, said the officials.

Some of the injured were said to be in a critical condition. Multiple vehicles were damaged in the accident.

The bus was going from Kurla railway station to Andheri when the accident occurred, he added.

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."

"Many people were lying in a pool of blood. A crowd assembled at the spot and started moving the injured to hospital," Ansari said.

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.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)