29 injured in bus accident

KOCHI: Twenty-nine people sustained injuries, four of them seriously, when a private bus fell into a pit dug up for cable laying at Willingdon Island in Kochi on Monday. The police said the incident occurred around 8 am near the FCI godown at the Indira Gandhi Road.

“The bus was packed to capacity and fell into a pit that runs parallel to the road. The driver of the bus lost control of the vehicle and it rammed into the compound wall nearby,” they said.

The bus, ‘Mookambika’ (KL-07-1085), plying in the Wellingdon Island- Fort Kochi route, was badly damaged in the accident.

The injured include seven students, all studying at the KV Port Trust, and nine women. Four critically injured commuters are recovering at the Intensive Care Unit of the Medical Trust Hospital.

A case for rash and negligent driving was lodged against the driver at the Traffic East station.

Meanwhile, local people charged that negligence by authorities to properly fill up the ditch led to the accident. Anish C. D., the bus owner, too blamed the bad road condition and said the pit was not properly covered.