Visakhapatnam: An RTC bus overturned on the NH-16, near Port Hospital Junction in Vizag city, on Monday morning; over 30 passengers had a miraculous escape. One passenger suffered serious injuries, while 15 escaped with minor ones. Traffic came to a grinding halt between Birla Junction and Akkayyapalem, and the congestion did not dissipate for hours. The police had to make it a one-way street to regulate the traffic until the bus was shifted from the spot.
The traffic police said that an RTC bus travelling from Narsipatnam to Vizag city had been moving at a high speed. The driver had abruptly swerved to the right to avoid hitting an auto-rickshaw that had suddenly appeared in his path, as a result of which he lost control of the vehicle, causing it to overturn. The police said that an elderly woman had received injuries to the head, but no one else had been grievously hurt. A highway patrolling vehicle which was in the area at the time of the accident rushed to the spot and assisted in rescue and restoration operations.
K. Suresh, a Sub-Inspector of the Fourth-Town Police Station, said that the driver of the RTC bus had suddenly applied the brakes when an auto-rickshaw appeared in front of his vehicle. Because the road was wet, he lost control of the vehicle. The bus hit a divider and overturned. The driver was unable to recall whether the autorickshaw had come from a side road, or if it had already been on the NH-16. The sub-inspector said that there were no CCTV cameras at Port Hospital Junction, because of which they could not find out exactly what had happened.
He said that the passengers had dispersed from the spot immediately after the accident, while the police were busy clearing the traffic. Sources from the police said that commuters in the area had not taken note of the autorickshaw’s plate number. RTA officials will check whether the bus suffered a brake failure. The police have registered a case and the investigation is underway.
