Bus ploughs into passengers Life lost, limbs at risk

A state-run bus ploughed into a crowd of commuters waiting for transport in north Calcutta on Sunday evening, crushing to death an elderly man and grievously injuring 12 more people, three of whom might need amputation. Driver Bikash Mondal was at the wheel of the Calcutta State Transport Corporation bus on the IC-21 route — Bagbazar to Garia — when the vehicle hit a van parked 50 metres north of the Shyambazar five-point crossing around 5.30pm and headed straight for the people standing just below the pavement. The unidentified casualty, aged about 60 and wearing a white shirt and brown trousers, was apparently the first one to be hit. Three commuters trying to get out of the vehicle’s way fell in a heap and had their legs crushed. According to doctors at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, all three had suffered extensive bone, nerve and tissue damage. “They have already lost a lot of blood. We might need to amputate the legs,” said a doctor at the hospital’s emergency wing. One of the three men is Teghoria resident Ashok Kumar Roy, 70. “He has multiple leg fractures and ruptured blood vessels,” said the doctor treating him. “If it is a case of only torn blood vessels and fracture, surgery can repair the damage to restore blood circulation. However, if there is a blood clot even after surgery, then amputation would be required to prevent it from spreading,” said orthopaedic surgeon B.D. Chatterjee. Five of the 10 injured taken to RG Kar needed hospitalisation. The rest were allowed to go after first-aid. “All of those who have been admitted need blood transfusion. They could also be operated on within the next few hours,” an official said. Survivor Joydeb Purkait, 45, said he saw the victim being run over and tried to jump back onto the pavement, only to fall on his back.“I was lucky the bus missed me,” recounted the Belghoria resident, who suffered a head injury. Witnesses said more people would have been killed or injured had the bus not mounted the pavement and come to a halt after ramming against a tree. Rajesh Shaw, who was standing near the Bata outlet in Shyambazar, said around 35 people were in front of the pavement where the accident occurred. “While some managed to move out of the way in the nick of time, many fell while trying to do so. I saw people lying on the road and thought there were many casualties,” he recalled. The van driver and the owner of a stall damaged by the bus escaped with bruises. Shaw said he noticed the bus driver leaning towards the window next to him as it climbed the pavement. “It seemed to me that he was unconscious,” he added. Nobody noticed when driver Mondal got off the bus, leading police to assume that he had fled. But news soon arrived from RG Kar that he had been admitted there. “We know he is in hospital but haven’t been informed whether he was injured or undergoing treatment for some ailment,” an officer said. The police said a technical test on the bus on Monday would reveal whether a mechanical fault triggered the accident. “The brakes appear to be working fine and the vehicle looks to be in a good condition from outside. The tyres are also fine,” the officer said.