Bus accident toll rises to 7, CM Fadnavis announces Rs 5 lakh aid to victims’ families; police close station road in Mumbai
The death toll in the BEST bus accident in Mumbai rose to seven on Tuesday morning, hours after the driver allegedly lost control of the vehicle in a congested marketplace near Kurla railway station on Monday night.
The number of injured has also increased to 49, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC’s) Disaster Control Management said in an update on Tuesday.
The accident occurred around 9.50 pm opposite Anjuman-e-Islam School on S G Barve Marg in Kurla (West) when an electric BEST bus plying on Route Number 332 between Kurla and Andheri stations climbed a footpath, rammed several vehicles and ran over people. An FIR was registered and driver Sanjay More was arrested.
On Tuesday, the police closed Kurla Station Road to traffic.
The BEST said in a statement that bus services on several routes would be affected. Buses on routes 37, 320, 319, 325, 330, 365, and 446 will operate from Kurla depot and buses on routes 311, 313, and 318, which normally travel from Santacruz to Kurla station, will be diverted via Tilak Nagar, the BEST said. The bus on Route 310 will take a detour via Tilak Nagar Bridge, heading to Bandra bus station, it added.
According to the BMC, the injured have been admitted to various hospitals across the city. At Bhabha Hospital in Kurla, 35 injured were reported, with two pronounced dead at the scene and two others succumbing to their injuries after admission, officials said.
At Kohinoor Hospital, three injured were admitted. Of these, one died during treatment and two others are critical, the BMC said. Seven Hills Hospital confirmed that the four injured police officers in its care are stable. Habib Hospital has reported one fatality and five patients admitted with injuries.
CM Fadnavis announces financial aid to victims’ families
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Tuesday announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh will be given to the families of those who were killed in the BEST bus crash in Mumbai’s Kurla from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
Fadnavis said Mumbai Municipal Corporation and BEST have been directed to bear the expense of treatment of those injured in the accident.
In a post in Marathi on X, Fadnavis also extended his condolences to the families of the deceased persons and expressed grief. “…. We share the grief of their families and I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” he said in a post.
