(Representative image)

KOLKATA: Two passengers were killed and 12 critically injured after a packed Sealdah-bound minibus fell on its left side at the foot of the Kolkata-end of Howrah bridge on Friday morning.

It was trying to overtake another vehicle from the left. The minibus door slammed against the road and the two passengers on the footboard were crushed on impact.

According to witnesses and those on board, the conductor was urging the driver to go faster as another bus on the same route was less than 100m behind them. The driver, in a bid to swerve quickly to the left to take MG Road, lost control and the bus toppled.

Ganesh Ganguly, 28, and Jahinder Singh , 45, both waiting to get off at Burrabazar crossing, were thrown off and crushed under the bus. Both were dead by the time they could be dragged out and sent to Calcutta Medical College and Hospital, 3km away.

The rest were rescued mainly by locals, who broke the windshield of the bus and got the trapped passengers out via the driver’s cabin.

The driver was the one to be rescued first, but moments later, he fled the spot and could not be traced till late on Friday.

“There was barely enough space to even stand on the bus. The conductor was, however, still picking up passengers and after realizing the other bus on the same route was closing by, he suddenly told the driver to speed. At the foot of the bridge, the driver suddenly tried to swerve left and there was a screeching sound. Before we could react, the bus fell on its side and began spinning,” said Hiralal Mullick , who was sitting by the window on the left.

His 80-year-old father was seated next to him. Both of them were wounded and bled.

Rajib Kr Gupta said he was standing and lost consciousness as the bus toppled. “When I opened my eyes, people were piled up on me and there was blood all over. Someone extended a hand and pulled me out. I don’t remember what happened next and found myself in the hospital bed,” said Gupta, who suffered fractures on his hands and legs.

The injured and deceased were all taken to Medical College, where nine patients are still admitted. Three victims were taken to private hospitals.

Cops seized the bus and said they would arrest the conductor, Bapi Manna, 42, who is currently in hospital with multiple fractures. “We are on the lookout for the driver,” said an officer.

