‘Rickety ride’: 1 dead, 32 injured as stuffed bus overturns at Sancoale

Vasco: A person died and 32 passengers were injured after a minibus overturned at Queeny Nagar in Sancoale on Thursday evening.The accident involved a Vasco-bound Titan-Verna passenger minibus.The death occurred on the spot, and among the injured, a majority were women. The condition of three to four passengers is critical, sources said.The accident was reported at around 4.10pm, when the bus — allegedly overloaded — was heading towards Vasco from Titan-Verna, chiefly carrying workers of various companies from the Industrial Development Corporation estate at Verna.The driver lost control of the vehicle at Queeny Nagar as it ran over a hollow surface of the four-lane highway which has been dug due to the ongoing construction work of a flyover.The impact of the accident was such that the bus first keeled over to the left and eventually overturned onto the highway.The conductor of the bus, identified as Shiva Madar, a resident of Birla, Zuarinagar, died on the spot, as he was trapped underneath the vehicle.According to the information available, of the 32 injured passengers, a majority were referred to the Cansaulim primary health centre, while the remaining were shifted to the Chicalim subdistrict hospital for further treatment.Cortalim MLA Anton Vas was among those who reached the site soon after the accident and helped in the effort to move the injured passengers to hospitals.Serious concern has been raised about the overloading of passenger buses, risking the lives of people. The bus which was involved in Thursday’s accident was in a decrepit condition, several passengers claimed.“The authorities concerned should take immediate action against buses which are plying on various routes without any maintenance,” Vas said.A former sarpanch of the Sancoale village panchayat, Narayan Naik, said, “Old buses need to be scrapped by the authorities so that lives of people can be saved.”He added, “This accident has clearly shown that the bus involved was not fit to ply on the road. Nevertheless, the bus was overloaded, endangering innocent lives.”The flow of traffic on the affected lane was choked for about half an hour. Vehicles were diverted to the other parallel lane.The deputy superintendent of police, Vasco subdivision, Gurudas Kadam personally monitored the situation at the accident site.Verna police are investigating the case.