CHENNAI: More than 30 passengers of a Metropolitan Transport Corporation bus were injured after the bus overturned and fell off theGemini flyover on the arterial Anna Salai at 2pm on Wednesday.
The bus (M17) going from Broadway to Vadapalani was negotiating a curve that branches off the flyover to the Nungambakkam High Road when the driver apparently lost control, eyewitnesses said. No casualty was reported.
Bus conductor, Hemakumar, told police that there were about 30 passengers. The injured were rushed to the nearby Apollo Hospitals, Government General Hospital and the Royapettah Government Hospital.
Eyewitnesses said they heard cries of passengers who were trapped inside. Passersby broke the windowpanes of the bus and rescued the passengers. Fire service and police personnel reached the spot shifted the injured to hospitals. A rescue personnel was injured by a broken glass.
"Driver of the bus, Prasanth, was overspeeding," MTC general manager Prem Kumar told TOI an hour after the accident that the bus was in good condition. "It appears to be a clear case of overspeeding," he added, ruling out any mechanical fault.
The driver suffered multiple fractures in the accident. Passengers of the bus, many of whom are undergoing treatment for minor injuries, said they were taken by surprise. Anbu (40), a passenger who was sitting on the fourth row behind the driver, said the bus swerved to the right as it was negotiating a left curve. "There was a Tata Indica car ahead of the bus when the driver turned the bus abruptly to the left and lost control. It ploughed through the parapet and fell," said Anbu who suffered minor injuries.
An Apollo spokesperson said the hospital has received at least 20 people have been brought to the hospital in several ambulances since 2.30pm. "Many have minor injuries. The nature of some others' injuries is being ascertained," the spokesperson said.
A crane which was brought to the spot was still struggling at 3pm to pull the bus back on its wheels. Traffic on Anna Salai has been affected because of the accident.
City police commissioner, JK Tripathy, said traffic on Anna Salai will return to normal soon as efforts were on to remove the bus from the road. "We have information from the hospital that the injured passengers are stable now," Tripathy added.
This is the first major accident on Gemini flyover since it was opened in 1973 as the first flyover in Chennai
.
