29 injured as 2 buses collide at Farmagudi

PONDA: Around 29 passengers including 14 women were injured in a head-on collision between two passenger buses at Farmagudi near GVM’s circle on Thursday afternoon.

Of the 29 injured, eight persons including drivers of both the buses have sustained serious injuries and have been admitted to the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) at Bambolim.

According to Ponda police, the accident occurred around 2.40 pm on the Panaji-Ponda highway, about 30 metres away from the GVM’s circle between a Kadamba Transport Corporation (KTC) bus and a private passenger bus. The private bus was proceeding towards Ponda with around 40 passengers on board, while the KTC bus was ferrying 20 passengers from Ponda to Panaji. As both the buses reached Farmagudi, driver of the KTC bus lost control over the vehicle and rammed it into the oncoming bus resulting in the accident. Police said that the impact of the accident suggested that the KTC bus was on the wrong side of the road.

Both the buses collided on the driver’s side because of which the driver of the KTC bus remained trapped inside the vehicle for half an hour, while the private bus driver managed to get out of the bus. A woman passenger travelling in the private bus was also trapped in the vehicle. Both the trapped persons were later rescued by fire personnel.

Soon after the accident, all the injured were shifted to Sub District Hospital at Ponda. Altogether 29 people sustained injuries with most of them injuring their faces. Eight persons have sustained serious and multiple injuries and have been referred to the GMCH, said police sub-inspector Rifa Barreto.

The seriously injured persons have been identified as Damodar Naik (46), the private bus driver and a resident of Adpai; KTC bus driver Rupesh Gawas (44), resident of Pali; Prakash Parab (24), resident of Dharbandora; Champa Gaude, (45) from Karambolim; Romaldina Fernandes (44), a resident of Ponda; Justiana Rodrigues (64), resident of St Cruz, Ponda; Alok Kumar (53), resident of Curti, Khandepar and Shrikrishna Borkar (54), resident of Curti, Ponda.

Police have registered an offence against the KTC bus driver for endangering lives by driving in a rash and negligent manner, said police inspector Harish Madkaikar. The KTC bus driver has claimed a technical fault in the steering wheel of the bus, which, according to him, got locked resulting in the accident. Further investigation is under process.