Over-speeding bus falls off the road in Asimganj: 25 injured as driver races under influence of alcohol

An overspeeding bus lost control and fell off the road while it was on its way from Nivia Bazar to Agartala. The accident happened this morning in the Purbagul area of Asmiganj near Anipur, where at least 25 passengers were injured. According to eyewitnesses and passengers at the spot, the driver of the bus was under the influence of alcohol and was racing with another Traveller. Locals rushed the injured to the nearest hospital for first aid and treatment. Patharkandi police reached the spot to recover the bus that fell off the road into a paddy field.

On Wednesday morning at around 11:30, when passengers of the Nivia Bazar area of Karimganj boarded the bus with registration number AS 11 BC 0176, little did they know that their safety was in the hands of an inebriated driver. More than 25 passengers were on their way to the neighbouring state of Agartala on that overspeeding bus. Before heading on the Patherkandi bypass, the overspeeding bus driver when racing a Traveller lost control and fell off the road into a paddy field.

Several passengers were wounded in this accident. One passenger on his way to Agartala who fell victim to this accident said, “I don’t know what happened all of a sudden. I remember the bus was racing two Travellers who were at a very high speed and then all of a sudden the bus fell off the road”. Locals there rushed to help the passengers stuck inside the fallen bus. Fellow passengers and good samaritan’s support helped in evacuating women and children from the bus first and later the wounded passengers were rushed to the hospital.

A local there said, “The condition of the road is very good, there are no turns, it’s a straight road, there is no reason the bus could lose control other than the driver being intoxicated. When I came here, I saw the bus fall into the paddy field and a few passengers severely wounded. I dialled the local police who reached there in no time to recover the bus. The patients were also rushed to the hospital by the people of our area. Around 25 passengers were inside the bus”.

The locals there also said the need to take strict measures for public transport drivers as the safety of many lives depends on them.