A bus, two minis and a car: Pile-up on Howrah bridge kills 1, injures 9

HOWRAH/KOLKATA: A serial collision of two minibuses, a CSTC bus and a car on Howrah bridge on Tuesday killed one and injured nine, two of them critically.
Police have detained the bus driver with CCTV footage showing he was the main culprit, racing recklessly with a Kolkata-bound minibus on the Howrah-Shyambazar route.
Drivers of the minibuses and the car fled the spot.While the dead man is yet to be identified, witnesses said he was in the car on the Howrah-bound flank.Howrah hospital discharged seven of the injured after treatment and the two in critical condition were referred to Calcutta Medical College & Hospital.
The accident happened around 8am near pillar No.3 of Howrah bridge. CCTV footage of the accident starts with the Shyambazar-bound minibus getting on the bridge followed closely by the speeding CSTC bus on the S-7 route which dangerously overtook the former. Another race was on at the opposite Howrah-bound flank between a mini on the Shyambazar-Amta route and a car. Near pillar No.3, the Amta-bound minibus strayed onto the Kolkata-bound flank of the bridge in a bid to overtake the car. Just as it swerved onto the city-bound flank, it collided head-on with the CTSC bus. The impact of the collision led the bus to turn almost 90 degrees.As it so turned, the Shyambazar-bound bus hit its rear while car on the Howrah-bound flank collided against its front side.
Golabari cops reached the spot with an ambulance. One of the injured died in the hospital.OC Golabari PS Tathagatha Pandey said: “We have detained the driver of the CSTC bus.Reckless driving caused the accident. We are trying to identify the deceased.“
The accident left traffic in total disarray. For around three hours in the morning, Strand Road, MG Road and the Howrah bridge itself remained choc-abloc. The situation finally eased out around 11am when Kolkata and Howrah cops stepped in.
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