The accident in Bandra-Kurla Complex happened after the driver left the dedicated lane on the left and tried to overtake vehicles from the right



BEST bus 310 after it collided with a tree in BKC on Wednesday

Seven passengers were injured after a double-decker BEST bus (route no. 310) crashed into a tree in Bandra-Kurla Complex yesterday, completely destroying its roof. The accident took place around 12.40 pm, when the bus was on its way to Kurla station from Bandra east; it hit the tree while overtaking another vehicle near the family court.



Musaraf Shaikh

Locals rescued all the trapped passengers and took them to the nearest hospital. Five injured were taken to Guru Nanak hospital — Subodh Singh (40), Manish Saroj (22), Santalal Saroj (39), Swaraj Shaikh (18) and Musaraf Shaikh (17); two were taken to Sion hospital — Prafful More (35) and Arvind Sanghani (45).



Subodh Singh. Pics/Sayed Sameer Abedi

A dreadful day

Musaraf, who severely injured his right eye, was with his friend Swaraj, and both were on their way home to Kurla from college.

“It was dreadful... thankfully, nobody died. This is our regular bus to reach home after college, nothing like this has ever happened before,” said Musaraf.

Musaraf was on the second-last seat next to the window and Swaraj was next to him. While Swaraj sustained a minor injury, Musaraf’s is critical and may require surgery. “We are thankful to god that my son is alive; his right eye is badly injured for which the doctors have asked us to decide whether we want to proceed with an operation here or in some other hospital,” said Hasina Siraj Attar (40), Musaraf’s mother.

Another injured, Santalal, said, “I don’t understand how these drivers can be so careless. This accident has injured us so badly that for a few days we can’t go to work. I suppose I should thank god that at least we are all alive.”

Santalal, who was travelling with his nephew Manish, had caught the bus from Bandra station and was going to his workplace in Kurla. A carpenter by profession, he injured his right hand, while Manish sustained a minor leg injury. Subodh also received minor injuries.

Medical opinion

“All five patients were brought to the hospital around 1 pm. Barring one, none of the others had any serious injury; two were discharged after the first line treatment, while others are being treated in the casualty ward,” said Dr Krishna Mehta, medical director of Guru Nanak Hospital.

An official from Sion hospital said, “The two brought here have been admitted in the trauma ward. Sanghani have got injuries in his right ear and on the forehead, while More likely has internal injuries.”

Case against bus driver

A case has been registered in the Bandra-Kurla Complex police station against bus driver Ramesh Dhondu Patil. “The accident took place due to the driver’s negligence; instead of driving on the left side of the road, which is a dedicated bus line in BKC, he took to the right to overtake other vehicles. We have registered a case against him under sections 279 (rash driving), 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code,” said a police officer.