Concerned relatives of BEST bus accident victims throng hospital

Vijaya Shinde, a nurse and the duty in-charge, said 31 persons injured in the accident were being treated at the hospital

Mumbai: Chaos and commotion reigned at the Kurla Bhabha hospital on Monday night, with the injured being wheeled from one room to another or taken in ambulances to other hospitals. Meanwhile, family members searched for their loved ones frantically – some checked with the hospital staff, others waited anxiously outside and yet others were overcome with grief and in tears.

Concerned relatives of BEST bus accident victims throng hospital

Vijaya Shinde, a nurse and the duty in-charge, said 31 persons injured in the accident were being treated at the hospital.

Fazloor Rehman, a vegetable vendor and one of the patients under treatment, said he had travelled from Ghatkopar to Kurla to buy diabetes medicines when he was struck by the bus. Rehman sustained head injuries, while his wife, daughter and granddaughter escaped with minor injuries.

Close by, two-year-old Miskat Fatema slept in her uncle Imran Sheikh’s arms, her head bandaged and blood spots visible on her white dress. “She was in a rickshaw with her father, mother and grandparents when the bus hit them. Miskat will be okay, but doctors are still examining her father and grandparents,” said her uncle.

Injimam Sheikh, another accident victim, said he had come to Kurla with his family for a meal and was walking in the vegetable market when the bus knocked him over.

“I don’t remember much after that. My family members picked me up and got me here,” he said, limping out of the hospital as he had been referred to Sion Hospital. Six members of his family had been injured in the accident including one Mehtab Sheikh who was critical as he had been run over, said a family member helping Sheikh.

Police patrol vehicle driver Ravindra Bhavsar said he was injured as he was hit by the steering wheel of his vehicle after the bus rammed into the police van. Two other police personnel were also injured, he noted.

Dr Dnyanesh Gawankar, a professor at Kurla Bhabha hospital, said they had to refer the injured to civic hospitals as they did not have portable X-ray and neurosurgery facilities.