Two persons, one of them a teenager, died and at least 19 were injured when a speeding minibus overturned on Mayo Road on Saturday evening.
At least three among the injured are critical, said doctors at SSKM Hospital, where they were admitted. Some have multiple injuries, a hospital official said.
The bus driver lost control while trying to avoid hitting a bike that had come in front just before a turn, police said.
Several passengers, some of them standing on and near the foot board, were trapped under the bus. The police had to smash the windshield and the rear shield to pull them out.
“The accident took place around 4.40pm, in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue on Mayo Road, near its intersection with Dufferin Road. From preliminary reports based on eyewitness accounts, a bike came in front of the bus, which had been speeding. In a bid to swerve past the two-wheeler, the driver lost control and the bus toppled,” said an officer.
One of the deceased is Farhan Ahamed Khan, 16, a resident of Sudhir Bose Road in Watgunj, the police said. Cops are yet to identify the other deceased, who is male and aged around 42, they said.
The bus driver was among those injured. There was no update on the biker, cops said.
The minibus, which plies on the Metiabruz-Howrah route, was headed towards Howrah when the accident happened. It was fairly crowded, the police said.
Pedestrians helped policemen in the rescue. A large crowd had gathered around the bus hearing cries for help from inside the vehicle. Some passengers crawled out of the windows. But several were trapped under the bus.
“Rescuing people trapped under the bus was a challenge. We had to smash the windshield and rear shield to help them out,” said an officer.
“The bus was moving fast. Suddenly, there was a screeching sound, followed by a deafening thud. The bus lay overturned and the passengers were screaming,” a motorcyclist who was near Press Club, a stone’s throw from the accident site, told The Telegraph.
The accident on one of the busiest thoroughfares in Kolkata triggered traffic disruption. The bus lay on the road for a while and north-bound traffic was disrupted for around an hour, the police said.
A tow van with a crane took the bus away around 5.40pm. “The bus will be taken for a detailed test to ascertain if there was a mechanical glitch,” said an officer.
Speeding buses with scant regard for road safety have been behind several accidents in the city.
