Bhandup bus crash: People power to the rescue after Mumbai's BEST tragedy

A year after a BEST electric bus mishap left nine dead and at least 10 injured in Kurla an eerily similar accident occurred where the driver of another such vehicle lost control while taking a Uturn near Bhandup railway station killing four people and seriously wounding 10 to 12 pedestrians around 950 pm on MondayThe bus driver and conductor have been identified as Santosh Ramesh Sawant 52 and Bhagwan Bhau Ghare 47 respectively The Bhandup police theorise that the bus driver possibly hit the accelerator instead of applying the brakes Meanwhile eyewitnesses told midday that due to the presence of illegal hawkers bus drivers find it difficult to make Uturns at this spotThe incidentgtgt Dozens of passengers had queued at the bus stop at the western side of Bhandup railway stationgtgt Many hawkers were present at the spot selling vegetables clothes toys and watchesgtgt Around 950 pm the driver of the Route No 715 bus lost control of the vehicle while executing a Uturngtgt The bus ended up on the footpath where passengers were standing and rammed into a streetlight polegtgt Four passengers were killed on the spot from the impactgtgt Terrified the hawkers immediately fled with their goodsThe deceasedAmong the four who lost their lives is Varsha Jaggannath Sawant a resident of Nardas Nagar Bhandup West who had just turned 24 on December 24 Sawant who was residing with her parents and two sisters worked as a nurse at Tata Memorial Hospital in Parel and had taken three days leave to attend her cousinrsquos wedding in SataraNarayan Kamble 55 a dailywage labourer who sustained fractures to both hands and legsA close relative told midday ldquoShe was delighted on December 24 when we celebrated her birthday She was helping her parents financially and was to resume working on Tuesday She was standing in the queue on the footpath when she sustained fatal injuries to her head and backrdquoAnother family member said ldquoWhen Varsha didnrsquot return home on time we called her repeatedly But she was not responding Later we received a call from the police stating that she had been injured in an accident and was admitted to Agarwal Hospital in Bhandup We rushed to the facility only to learn that she was deadrdquoA pass that belonged to one of the deceased Varsha Sawant a nurse who had just turned 24 on December 24Another deceased Prashant Shinde 43 was working as a traffic warden according to his brotherinlaw Shailesh Shirke The sole breadwinner of his family Shinde lived with his wife Kanchan and 10yearold son Soham in Bhandup West Shirke told midday ldquoPrashant had a daytime and nighttime job Just a year ago he started earning enough to get by comfortably He was returning home from traffic warden duty at the time of the mishaprdquoThe injuredMangesh Dukhande another Bhandup West resident was also on his was home when disaster struck Dukhande sustained injuries to his nose and left legDukhande who was admitted to Agarwal hospital said ldquoThough I saw the speeding bus I couldnrsquot react and got trapped under it It all happened in just two or three seconds Passersby removed me and admitted me to the hospital The passengers didnrsquot have a chance to save themselvesrdquoNarayan Kamble 55 a dailywage labourer who resides in Shivaji Nagar Bhandup West sustained fractures to both hands and both legs as well as injuries to his backPrashant Shinde 43 a traffic warden who lost his lifeHe said ldquoI was standing in the queue when the speeding bus suddenly appeared I tried to jump to safety but the vehicle hit me from the rear and ran over me Locals removed me from under the bus and admitted me to the hospital Irsquom grateful to be alive but am in intense painrdquoEyewitness accountsDinesh Jain Saree shop ownerlsquoI was standing outside on the footpath when the bus rammed into a streetlight pole while making a Uturn The pole saved many lives This road is always busy because of hawkers who impair movement of busesrsquoHasmukh Savla Local shopkeeperlsquoThe bus first climbed on footpath and was then brought to a halt by the pole Shopkeepers removed the injured from under the bus with help of localsrsquoHarshad Patel Local shopkeeperlsquoWe were closing our shops when the incident occurred Many hawkers are blocking the path of buses They should all be removedrsquoMunna Jani Farsan shop ownerlsquoThe bus rammed into the pole in front of my shop I am still traumatised A small girl was crushed under a wheel in front of my eyes We tried to rescue all the victims There was blood everywherersquo