And those on top will hold their breath — in the days to come. An account of the Gemini accident
When Prasad (48), the bus driver, and Hemakumar, the conductor, took the 17 M bus out of Vadapalani bus stand, little did they know that in the next few hours they would be involved in an accident that would bring the city to a standstill for a many hours.
The bus made several trips before starting yet again from Broadway around noon. According to V. Anbazhagan, who boarded the bus from Broadway, there were around 50 passengers in the bus, which usually takes an hour to reach Vadapalani.
The vehicle reached Gemini Flyover around 1.30 p.m. “All we heard was a big sound and smoke going up,” said Vanarani, a teacher at a Government-run balwadi, some 10 feet away from the flyover. “The children had finished their lunch and were sleeping. Hearing the noise, they woke up with a jolt,” she said.
Passengers in the bus were screaming for help. Passers-by tried to rescue the commuters. Tameem Ansari, who was chatting with his friend at a nearby tea stall at the time of the accident, said: “We heard the noise and rushed to the spot. It was like a huge explosion,” said Mr. Ansari.
Help arrives in time
Among government departments, the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services Department was the first to reach the spot. “Once we got the call, a team of six members rushed to the spot. I broke the rear window screen of the bus and rescued three passengers, including a child and an elderly woman, who was stuck beneath the seat,” said S. Karthik, a fire fighting personnel, who was also injured during the rescue mission.
What hampered the rescue mission was the mob which gathered around the accident site. “Some of them were telling us what to do and they were blocking free movement of light and air,” said Mr. Karthik. As onlookers started gathering on the flyover and near the accident site, free movement of traffic was affected.
“The traffic diversion was not effective. The police should have put up barricades on Whites Road and at Teynampet and diverted the vehicles. This way there would have not been any congestion on Anna Salai,” said S. Rajkumar who was stuck in the traffic. Health Minister V.S. Vijay was also stuck in the traffic.
From around 2.15 pm, recovery vans from the MTC were brought to the site to tow the bus. “The van is really old and it cannot drag a bus,” said an MTC staff member. After many futile attempts, a crane was brought to the spot and the bus was taken away at around 3.15 p.m.
Shopkeepers in the vicinity were roped in for rescue operations initially. M.J. Antony of N.K. Timbre Depot, said, “It was around 2 p.m. that we heard a noise. Within minutes, we heard that a bus had fallen off the flyover,” he said. “Soon, policemen came asking for help and we rushed to the spot,” he said.
After it was over
Even three hours after the accident, an eye-witness who helped rescue the passengers had not left the scene. The spot had been cleared, the stretch was opened to traffic, and most of the locals who had come to see the spot had dispersed. “I saw the bus come down inch by inch,” said an eyewitness.
An MTC bus driver himself, he was riding his two-wheeler, and happened to pass by that stretch at the time of the incident. “I was going towards Teynampet from Parry’s Corner. The bus was quite crowded and several locals rushed to rescue those who were stuck inside. The bus was completely damaged and the glass was shattered,” he said, adding that two women were badly stuck under a bus seat and it was a sub-inspector who broke the glass and the grille and brought them out.
Uday Kumar was going to his office near Sathyam Cinemas from T. Nagar when he noticed the commotion on the flyover. “I saw the bus had fallen down and some people were jumping out,” he said.
For the huge crowds that gathered around and over Gemini flyover, many of whom were school children who had come with their parents, a glimpse of the toppled bus is all they wanted. Parents of many children who take their children back home by bus, however, abstained from doing so on Tuesday afternoon.
Maragatham M. who took a detour to see the site of the incident with her daughter in tow, said: “I live in Teynampet and usually take a bus home from my daughter’s school, but today I was scared to do that. I decided to walk back home. I never thought such a big bus could turn over like that. We travel by this route everyday, and it is scary.”
Like Maragatham, Vingesh C. and his friends, decided to walk to their houses in Teynampet from their school on Nungambakkam High Road as there were no share autos available. “When parents came to pick up the primary school students, they told us about the accident near Gemini. Since there were no share autos, we thought it would be safest to walk,” said Vignesh.
Keywords: Anna flyover accident, Chennai accident, MTC bus accident
Reduce the speeding approach with a speed breaker that could follow international standards...
Now that we have the issues, we need to look at it differently...How many bus drivers put on their seat belts...Are they above law?
For every proof provided by the citizens of violation, put it for review during hikes and either put a percentage down or otherwise...
While blaming the drivers, it is only prudent to look at the average time that a bus trip takes in a scientific manner and change the requirements accordingly. Had it not been for the non-revision, the bus driver would have gone in the speed that would have been necessitated and not be indirectly pressurized and penalized. I have read an artical some time back, where the last revision has not happened for a quite a while. I stand corrected if the realistic average is put across.
Provide more comfort for the drivers while driving... You can put a fan linked to an USB socket today for them. In this heat, it may be good.
This news item is well detailed only by way of printing tiring eye witness accounts of what they heard and seen/perceived. Had it addressed the technicalities of the accident and some statistics on the number of accidents involving MTC buses and places of frequent accidents, it would have been truly an eye opener for everyone concerned. Instead what they have did was to call each passerby and ask their opinion (print version of NDTV-Hindu?)which I called standard dilution in recent times. At the same time I have to appreciate Hindu for serious coverage of issues in Frontline magazine where no magazine ventures.
Yes, In fact, that turn is a bit dangerous considering the radius. It should have been appropriately designed , with bigger radius, for the speed of that road. Also, as many noted here, road is not at fault. The barrier is not strong enough to safeguard from falling. Many places I have seen the construction strength of these rails/guards. It is pathetic and only aesthetic. I strongly suspect that the driver was at fault. He might have driven at a faster speed not suitable to that curvature; or talking on cell. But reckless on driver's part to some extent. Reviewing and rectifying the underlying causes would save us from future mishaps.
The root cause of this avoidable accident, is that the driver was running the vehicle at a greater speed. There are two factors to be borne in mind when negotiating such curves. The speed and the load (self weight of the bus and the number of passengers)both of which are variable ones. On account these, the center of gravity of the bus when it will fall outside, such accident is definitely bound to take place. The best way to avoid such happenings and to reduce the speed is introduction of rumblers at intervals (in the downward approach) to reduce the speed. The load,(viz. the number of passengers) can not be controlled in this highly indisdiplined nation.
Definetly Hindu has not 'Diluted its Standards' by this reports (I see
some pointed out that). In fact i feel it is getting closer to common
man rather staying with a particular sect. A well detailed news like
this will really do its part in reducing the chances of these accidents
(incidents) happening again by increasing the awareness. (But I too got
the same impression of 'Standard Dilution' when they reported about Shah
Rukh fight with Farah husband)
Corruption is the main theme running India - so only the common man always suffers - it is a place for the law breakers - feel ashamed of the goons ruining this country.
@Sam: It will happen in TN too. Wait and watch :)
Only such accidents reveal the construction and design quality of our road infrastructure and buses [dabba]. It is really sad that people are forced to accept such poor quality of public life.
Dear Editor,
Recent incidents - Chennai Sutherland, Mumbai Mantralaya, Srinagar mosque and Chennai bus accident - have shown that the public has little knowledge on fire safety. And I do not mean prevention alone.
How many of us know what needs to be done 'after' the incident occurs. People rush to the spot, public crowd the place, we 'help' by pouring water, heros rescue people.
All the while we forget that we are creating more chaos and not helping at all. The police and fire department have trained officers - they know what they are doing; better than anyone of us. Let us do a favour by letting them do their duty.
May I request your esteemed paper to run a series of articles on what the public must do in case of fire and accidents.
Some Do's and Dont's - do not panic, walk at a brisk pace to the nearest exit. Do not run or shout. Do not call friends and relatives while evacuating, Do not vandalise property in name of rescue, and score of other such rules.
The word 'personnel' is plural. One cannot say "a fire-fighting personnel" to refer to an individual.
More appropriate would have been "A member of the fire fighting staff", or simply, "a fire-fighter".
Usage of mobile while driving should be banned, the driver should be
punished that would teach a lesson to others, using phone while taking a
turn that too in a busy city is ridiculous. Government should take a
better action to avoid this problem in future.
If such incident were to happen in the US. Next month a ban on cell phone use by the drivers will be passed in Statehouse. Will there by anything close to that will happen in Tamil Nadu or any part of India?
A seriously unnecessary title to the article. I do not see any reference within the article of any one in the public saying this. The Hindu should not stoop so low to give such sensationalizing titles to appease some people and oppose some others.
What is the point in lamenting? DO we ever learn from mistakes and is the media keen to follow up on punishments (if at all it is meted out)? So any accident is a sensation for that day and next day its forgotten. And we are back in buisness, living life dangerously. Sad indeed.
Technically speaking, we are still using the OLD BRITISH STANDARDS to design our infrastructure. As a civil engineer, studied in India and working in UK, i found that the British have moved on from those designs long ago and now their designs concentrates more in health and safety rather than money. If we properly concentrate on safety while designing and preparing codes, we can definitely avoid these kind of accidents.
Very shocked to hear the news. Drivers who use mobile phones while driving should be punished and driving permits should be cancelled. The safety of many lives lies in the hands of the drivers of the passenger buses and they have to be more responsible.
Government will take stringent action only if a politician's kith or kin
travelled in those buses... anyway they ll not use public transport...
though if any action is taken it wont last long more then a week... we
are in India, we citizens should not forget it. As a fellow citizen I
should console myself of the swift action taken after the accident.
While watching a video an editor of a TV News channel asked the
minister, will there be any compensation for the accident victims... he
just blushed and fled away...
The cause of this accident lies deeper than the callousness of this particular driver; blatant disregard for traffic rules is a very common occurrence in India--it is the rule, rather than the exception.
It is not at all unusual to see two-wheelers and auto-rickshaws weaving their way through traffic; drivers/riders of motor vehicles of all hues unwilling to wait for the signal light to turn green; vehicles plying on the right side (which is the wrong side) of the road, just to "save" a few hundred metres of driving distance; a family of four or five riding on a two-wheeler meant for two...one can go on and one with examples.
The root cause of this behaviour is the lack of civic sense among the overwhelming majority of Indians (and before any other reader launches an argumentum ad hominem criticism of me, I point out that I am an Indian citizen).
I hope that stringent measures will be put in place to stop drivers of
public and private vehicles from using their cellphones while driving.
The fast response of the fire team is commendable, salutes to the
heroes of fire fighting department and the police.
I would say most of the bus drivers in the state are bad. I could see buses driven rashly even in narrow and crowded streets. Bus drivers do not seem to care about people around them. In addition, there should be strict action taken against people who are on mobile when they drive. It is mere commonsense that each one must have. The police personnel in the State must be corrupt free to implement any such hard and fast rule. It is after one life that God has given us, better save it.
may be the driver is at fault by using mobile phone while driving. What about pedestrians on mobile phone while crossing the roads and signals. No one sees or care for others in our Chennai and why to blame only the MTC bus. Of course they are the worst offender in the road and comes next the two wheelers. Very often we can see a lone two wheel occupy one lane and go in 20 kmph. Whole resolves in indiscipline among our self and why to blame the poor guy
the bridge has been in use for so long, so many buses have passed through the bridge... i wonder how come it became narrow all of a sudden. reckless driving by driver (probably on a mobile) seems more likely.
Too serious a coverage of what would have only been a four line new item in The Hindu till recently. Surely, The Hindu has diluted its standards in its quest to stay ahead of the times.
I am surprsied ur headline reads "They’ll look for falling buses when under a flyover". No one will look for falling buses from flyovers. Lets not exaggerate. Just because there was the Mumbai attack in Taj..People stopped going to hotels?? After tsunami people fled away from sea side houses? Its an accident. and its sad. I pray the authorities take necessary steps to curb the general number of accidents in the city. The vehicle drivers have done well so far to negotiate the otherwise very narrow roads and fly overs, road cuts, speedbreakers that defy rules, middle of the road check posts that suit the traffic police but are extremely dangerous for the road users. We are busy looking at all these things when we ride on teh roads every second, not for some bus that falls accidentally once in a lifetime.
MTC drivers are of a different breed. Uncouth, rude, incompetent,
scant regard for safety of passengers, insensitive to road rules and
the list is endless. Anyone who drives in the city will stand by what
I said.
Adding to this is the callous attitude of the traffic police towards
these drivers, perhaps fearing union outlash. Buses jump traffic
lights, violate lanes, over speed right under the nose of cops and
still go scot free.
What is more painful is these buses are not insured. They do not even
carry the bare minimum third party insurance. So, if you're hit, you
are at the mercy of the Corporation for compensation. And they have a
track record for fighting every penny in the court.
God bless
Can't blame on Driver seat. Driver should have managed better while
driving in a curve. Since 1973, Many worst maintained Govt. buses have
crossed this bridge. Driver should have been more careful & cautious.
Government should also think about size of the bus's becoz the road size and bus size ratio is not taken for consideration.
I am just curious but arent the sidewalls of the flyover supposed to be
made strong enough to prevent any vehicle [big or small] to crash
through fall down on the other side? Or are they been fitted simply for
cosmetic effect? If so then this should be a wakeup call for the
administration to take immediate steps to rectify this problem? They
could perhaps fit some strong iron rods to the sides of the walls as an
extra safety measure to prevent any vehicle from breaking through and
crash the other side.
Accidents are inevitable considering the kind of situation and environment we are living in. Irrespective of the number of flyovers you construct or the number of one-way's introduced it has to be understood that unless the number of vehicles are reduced, no one can stop road mishaps.
The root cause of the problem is not so simple. You might not blame just the driver, if you
have travelled in the bridge you will know how narrow it is, so imagine a bus passing that
kinda road, this accident was wating to happen.
Our people think, mishaps reading in newspapers will not happen to
them. Traffic violations are dealt with very lightly in our country, like
other laws. While turning reducing speed, when approaching a signal/
junction speed reduction, giving way for overtaking vehicle - the
basic thought that there are other road users, respecting pedestrians
right... Instead of Thiruvalluvar or God's picture, their family
members photo should be displayed in front of the drivers, to remaind
them. Small towns and some other cities are still worse. Bus drivers
should understand that stability of the buses depend on load/number
of passengers, how they are seated, speed of the vehicle and so on.
Sir, where is safety nowadays? buses trains ,pedistrains are all are becoming victims to the careless drivers. the more accidents ,the more indifference to these tragedies.we are now immune to such incidents and no further preventive or strict measures taken by the government or companies.people particularly children are dying like flies in India.for one death there will be hue and cry in other countries.bad days for India.
I understand that while driving the driver was talking on his mobile. If
this is true dismiss the driver and put him behind bars as to teach
lessons for others erring. Confiscate mobile phones while on duty and
also give rigorous imprisonment for driving when drunk!! Politicians and
Unions must throw away their politics to save fellow beings!!
According to an eyewitness in your video the driver was on phone and he could not negotiate the sharp turn. After the tragic train accident in Arakonam this is the second major accident involving cellphone using drivers. Inspite of the ban we see many many youngsters conversing emotionally thro phone while driving. Those who use phones while driving should be punished.
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