KOLKATA: At least one person was killed and seven others were injured after a government bus reportedly developed a mechanical failure - likely due to the bursting of one of its front tyres - while negotiating an island in Salt Lake. It crashed into a rickshaw stand before hitting a roadside tree and coming to a halt.
The incident was reported a little before Saturday noon from GC Island close to the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) and Bijon Bhawan.
The deceased, Brindavan Pradhan, was a rickshaw puller. A resident of Rajbangshipara in Kestopur, Pradhan (61) was from Murshidabad and regularly plied his rickshaw from the FE block stand. The injured include the bus conductor, a few passengers and a battery rickshaw operator. Most of the victims - except one who received five stitches - have been discharged from AMRI and Bidhannagar sub-divisional hospitals.
The bus from the Lake depot was plying on S-9 route between Jadavpur and Karunamoyee. It was headed towards Karunamoyee.
"We had crossed EZCC when there was a loud noise. The bus began to wobble. It then jumped onto the pavement, rammed into a few rickshaws parked at the stand and hit the tree," said Sayandeep Kundu, one of the 36 passengers on the bus.
Cops said a mechanical test of the bus would be conducted to check if it had developed a flat tyre or there was an issue with the brakes. A WBTC official said they would also carry out a probe.
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