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Kurla bus crash: Survivors recount scenes of horror, worry about livelihood

Dec 11, 2024 09:19 AM IST

In a tragic BEST bus accident in Kurla, seven died and 42 were injured, leaving families to cope with losses and uncertain futures.

Mumbai: A day after an ordinary evening turned tragic for the 49 victims of the BEST bus accident in Kurla, their families were left picking up the pieces and tending to injured and dead bodies.

Wreckage of a car after a speeding Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) bus collided with several vehicles on a road at Kurla in Mumbai on Monday night.(PTI)
Wreckage of a car after a speeding Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) bus collided with several vehicles on a road at Kurla in Mumbai on Monday night.(PTI)

In the immediate aftermath of the horrific accident on Monday evening, in which seven people died and 42 were injured, the Bhabha Hospital in Kurla saw a barrage of injured bodies roll in one after the other. As many as 38 injured patients landed up at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s tertiary hospital, which has only 15 beds across emergency and casualty. The 11 others had chosen to go to other hospitals.

By Tuesday afternoon, though, only six of the injured remained at Bhabha Hospital. Four of the injured were transferred immediately to Sion Hospital, while 16 others chose to switch to private hospitals for specialised treatment, including Kohinoor Hospital, Seven Hills Hospital, Habib Hospital, Fauziya Hospital, and Kurla Nursing Home.

The overwhelming majority of them were stable, with some getting discharged through the course of the day. Four were in critical condition–two at Sion Hospital and as many at Kohinoor Hospital. The latter two got better over time. “The six patients left with us have only superficial injuries,” said Padmashree Ayire, superintendent of Bhabha Hospital.

The ones who remained at Bhabha Hospital recalled horrific scenes from the accident they had narrowly survived. Akhtar Khan, an auto driver from Nalasopara, remembered ferrying a passenger from Kurla station when another auto came flying over his head and fell on his rickshaw. Khan’s head was crushed under the weight of his auto, but he was still conscious. “We didn’t know it was such a big situation. But once we saw him, we were scared,” said Shaziya, his daughter.

Worries about the future of their livelihoods abounded, with rickshaws crushed and long rests ordered. Anil Saha, a 32-year-old autorickshaw driver from Vile Parle, suffered a deep gash on his stomach. He had only finished paying off the loan on his rickshaw. “The auto is completely destroyed,” said Manoj Saha, Anil’s brother. Anil has a dependent family back home with three children.

Aman Shah, a 24-year-old who works at a car scrap shop in Kurla, suffered a head wound and shoulder fracture. He won’t be able to work for at least six months. Khan’s family, with four children, worried along the same lines, with a minimum of one month’s rest stipulated for the sole breadwinner.

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