Bus hits divider in Noida, 30 injured

Collision near Mahamaya flyover; police say it appears that the driver fell asleep at the wheel

Head on: There were 65 passengers in the bus at the time of the incident.

As many as 30 persons, including women and children, were injured when a bus from Vrindavan to Delhi collided with a divider near Mahamaya flyover in Noida on Monday.

Vrindavan pilgrimage

Noida Superintendent of Police Dinesh Yadav said the incident happened around 12.30 a.m. on Monday. Passersby stopped their vehicles and informed the police about the incident.

Acting on the information, a police team reached the spot and the injured were taken to the district hospital in Noida Sector 30. “A total of five ambulances and two PCRs were rushed to the spot within five minutes of receiving the information,” Mr. Yadav added.

The victims, who hailed from east Delhi’s Krishna Nagar and Chander Nagar, were returning from a pilgrimage in Vrindavan. The police said that prima facie it appeared that the driver had fallen asleep at the wheel and lost control of the bus. There were 65 passengers, of which 55 were women or children, in the bus at the time of the incident.

5 seriously hurt

A senior doctor in the district hospital said that 30 people had been brought to the hospital with cuts and injuries. Five of them are seriously injured and were referred to a Delhi hospital, he added. A total of five victims with multiple fractures were referred to Lok Nayak Hospital in Delhi. Bus conductor Govind (20) suffered serious injuries to his face and was rushed to a Delhi hospital.

Most of victims were sleeping when the incident took place. Recalling the incident, one of the occupants, Anuradha, said: “We were sleeping. Suddenly we felt a jolt and woke up and found people crying for help after the bus collided with a divider. Some of them fell off their seats on impact.”

Panic and shock

Within seconds of the impact, people were in a hurry to get out of the bus and in that panic, some other persons, including the elderly and children, were injured.

“There was chaos inside the bus. The occupants were in shock. Some of them felt hopeless due to fear. Everybody wanted to get out of the bus. Some passersby helped us rescue more people,” said another passenger M.K. Singh.