12 Kolkata: At least three persons, including a woman, were killed and 38 people travelling by a private bus were injured when the vehicle crashed into roadside shops on Basanti Highway at Minakhan in North 24 Parganas on Saturday evening. Among the dead was the bus driver.
The group of people on the bus was returning to Chinar Park from a wedding in Sarberia near Minakhan. Eighteen of the injured passengers were admitted to hospitals in Kolkata in critical conditions. The rest were taken to Minakhan Gramin Hospital.
According to witnesses, the speeding bus lost control while trying to avoid a collision with a motorcycle that suddenly appeared in its path. As a result, the bus veered off course and crashed into roadside shops.
Police said the deceased were bus driver Ainul Mondal, a resident of Rajarhat, the motorcyclist Malay Mondal, a resident of Minakhan, and a woman (yet to be identified) who was inside one of the shops, into which the bus crashed.
"The bus was moving at a breakneck speed when a two-wheeler suddenly appeared from the opposite direction. In an attempt to avoid a head-on collision, the driver lost control. The bus first rammed into a roadside tea stall, then crashed into another shop, bringing the shop's walls down. At least eight people were inside the tea stall at the time, all of whom were trapped under the debris," said a senior officer of Basirhat District Police.
Upon receiving the information, a large police contingent, including RAF and Combat Force personnel, led by senior officers from Basirhat District Police, reached the spot and joined the rescue operation to bring out passengers trapped inside the mangled bus. Locals also helped out.
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