Private bus blaze singes 4 bikers in Bengaluru
The bus was carrying 32 passengers, including 20 women and seven children
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-12-03 07:58 GMT
Bengaluru: A trip to the wedding of a friend’s brother in Kolar turned tragic for four friends, who were riding a bike. They were critically injured after they crashed head-on into a private bus carrying over 30 passengers on the busy K.R. Puram Road on Tuesday noon. The passengers had a miraculous escape as the bus caught fire after the accident.
The private bus, coming from Chintamani to the city, caught fire after the two-wheeler went under the bus and its petrol tank burst. The bus was gutted completely. Two fire tenders rushed to the spot and put off the fire. The driver, sensing danger, fled the spot.
For Fasi Ullah Khan, an eye-witness, it was a sight that he will never forget. “I was working at a nearby godown when I heard a loud noise. I rushed to the main road and saw three boys lying in a pool of blood while the fourth one was stuck under the bus below the radiator struggling to get out with the blaze on his back. I and others pulled him out, doused the flames and rushed him to a hospital,” he said. One of the locals informed fire and emergency department and other victims were rushed to the hospital.
The local residents also rushed to the help of bus passengers, forced open the backdoor and pulled them out before the bus burst into flames. The bus was carrying 32 passengers, including 20 women and seven children.
The injured have been identified as Mallikarjun (24) from Kolar, Harish (23), an employee of an apparel shop and a resident of Devesandra, Harish (24), a diploma student. Kalyan, a 20-year-old B.Pharma student and a resident of Kithaganur village, has received 30 percent burns.
While two of them were shifted to Nimhans, the other two were treated at the local hospital. Of the four, one is said to be critical. They were going to a friend’s house when the accident occurred.
Trying to take a 'U' turn, Kalyan, who was riding the bike, rode right into a no-entry zone. The driver of Sri Venkatesha Travels bus tried to avoid the bike riders and ran over the median. But the four still came under the bus, leading to the inferno. A traffic constable, Suresh, who was near the spot, joined the local residents and pulled the passengers out of the bus.
K.R. Puram MLA Byrathi Basavaraj and DCP (Traffic, East) M.N. Babu Rajendra Prasad visited the spot. Traffic was thrown out of gear on the busy road for over two hours.