Alert conductor saves 44 passengers; driver dies

PUNE, Dec 5: Nothing but a miracle - and an alert conductor - could have saved the forty-four passengers of a Mumbai-bound State Transpor...

PUNE, Dec 5: Nothing but a miracle – and an alert conductor – could have saved the forty-four passengers of a Mumbai-bound State Transport bus which turned turtle over the railway tracks and was run over by the Chennai Express at Kamshet near Pune in the small hours of Saturday.

While heading for Mumbai from Junnar, the bus driver lost control over the vehicle. The bus overturned on the adjacent railway tracks near Kamshet. While the driver lay trapped inside the bus, the alert conductor, Nivrutti Janardan Kohinkar, immediately opened the emergency exit of the bus to let the trapped passengers out.According to rural police, all the passengers managed to extricate themselves from the bus within five minutes and hurried for help. As the bus lay on the tracks, the Mumbai-bound Chennai Express travelling at a high speed rolled over it, crushed the bus and its driver Sonbhau Laxman Temgire (48).

The bus was ripped apart and its parts including the engine were flung as far as 400 feet from the accident spot.The railway engine was also severely affected and stopped functioning. Rail traffic on the Pune-Mumbai sector was disrupted till late this morning due to the accident.

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Three passengers sustained minor injuries while making an escape from the bus. They are Anuradha Pawar (60) of Ambegaon, Sanjay Dattatraya Durafey (35) and Vasant Dhondiba Valhadi (50) of Mumbai. They were rushed to Parmar Hospital at Kamshet and were discharged after medical treatment.

Some of the passengers doubt that the driver was drunk and they said that he was driving at a high speed. Temgire proceeded towards Mumbai from the old highway instead of the one which passes through Kamshet valley as is preferred by many due to traffic jams in the valley.Driving on the old highway ridden with potholes and uneven road surface, Temgire lost control over the bus at one slope and the vehicle skid off the road only to fall on the railway tracks five feet away on the right.

Residents of the nearby Indrayani Nagar awoke hearing the loud impactof the collision and rushed to the accident spot for help. The police and railway authorities from the nearby Kamshet railway station also arrived at the spot within few minutes after the accident. Later, senior police officers also arrived at the spot.

The mangled bus was removed from the tracks with the help of a crane. An alternate engine was deployed to push the Chennai Express to Mumbai.The escapees were still reeling under shock as the debris of the bus were being removed from the tracks.