40 city oncologists injured, driver dies in bus mishap in Ahmednagar

MUMBAI/NASHIK/AURANGABAD: A bus driver died and 40 radiation oncologists were injured, three of them seriously, when their bus rammed into a slow-moving container near Kedgaon bypass in Ahmednagar early on Saturday. Bus driver, Kurla resident Altaf Khalid Ahmed (41), died on the spot.
The group of 40 doctors from Mumbai was en route to Ellora to attend a two-day conference of the Maharashtra Chapter of Association of Radiation Oncologists of India on September 1 and 2.The conference has since been called off.
Most doctors were either staff or alumni of Tata Memorial Hospital in Parel. While three doctors who were in the front sustained severe injuries, many others suffered cuts or minor head injuries. It is learnt that Dr Pushkar Ingale, who works with Fortis Hospital in Mulund, sustained the maximum injuries with multiple fractures on the face and head wounds.
Tata Memorial Hospital’s assistant professor Dr Anil Tibdewal suffered broken ribs while junior resident Dr Johny Carlton passed out due to head injuries. “However, all three were stabilized before being brought back to Mumbai,” said Dr Bhavin Visariya, a radiation oncologist with Surana Hospital in Sanpada who was in the bus.
The three doctors were brought to Mumbai in two ambulances late in the evening. Dr Siddharth Laskar from Tata Memorial Hospital’s radiation oncology department said Dr Ingale was taken to his workplace at Fortis Hospital for further care while Tata Memorial doctors are admitted to BARC Hospital in Anushakti Nagar near Chembur.
Around 25 resident doctors were brought back in a bus while some took a taxi to the city. It is learnt that a green corridor was organized from Ahmednagar to Mumbai for the return journeys.
Dr Visariya said most doctors were asleep when the accident occurred. Those closest to the driver sustained the most injuries. “All the injured doctors underwent a CT scan at MaxCare Hospital in Ahmednagar. Around 20 doctors needed some minor stitches,” said Dr Visariya.
“The bus was travelling at considerable speed. Investigations are on, but it seems the bus driver may have dozed off at the wheels,” Ahmednagar police superintendent Ranjan Sharma. The front area near the driver's seat was mangled, and the police have asked the local regional transport office to ascertain if the bus had technical problems.
The bus had 42 occupants, including the driver and the helper and 10 female doctors.
Titled Maha-Aroicon 2018, the conference was expected to see more than 100 delegates from across the state in attendance.