Mumbai: Four people were killed and nine others injured after a Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking bus reversed and struck passengers standing in a queue in Mumbai on Monday night.
There were three women among the dead, the police said.
The accident occurred outside the Bhandup railway station around 10.05 pm when the driver of the bus was attempting to take a u-turn to move to the adjacent bus depot.
The driver was taken into custody and the seriously injured taken to Fortis Hospital, Hemraj Rajput, DCP, Zone 7, told Hindustan Times.
“The area was crowded. The 52-year-old driver was reversing the vehicle and hit the accelerator accidentally instead of applying the brakes,” an official said.
Calling the accident “extremely unfortunate” and hoping for the “speedy recovery” of the injured, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the deceased.
The vehicle involved was an air-conditioned nine-metre Olectra bus being operated on a wet lease, between Nagardas Nagar and Bhandup station, by BEST.
The first responders were local shopkeepers. They provided assistance to the injured and called the police and ambulances. Efforts were also made to contact the families of the injured.
Locals, as well as the police, have blamed locals for taking up space on the placements, forcing people to walk on the street. The lane just outside the railway station is among the most crowded in the suburb, a police officer said.
News agency PTI quoted Saimini Mudaliyar, a pharmacist, as saying that buses ending their trips at Bhandup station struggle to make a U-turn outside the railway station because of hawkers and heavy crowds during late evenings.
