BERHAMPUR: A day after eight persons were killed and over 35 injured after a bus fell off a bridge at Taptapani Ghat, police recorded statements of all the injured persons to ascertain the circumstances that led to the deadly accident. A police team visited the MKCH Medical College and Hospital (MCH) at Berhampur where the injured are undergoing treatment and questioned them about the accident. Cleaner of the bus Rakesh Sahu of Seragada who had a narrow escape will be interrogated on Friday, said Ganjam SP, Brijesh Roy.
On Wednesday, Commerce and Transport Minister Padmanabha Behera had said as per preliminary investigation it is suspected that the bus might have overturned after the driver Sunil Nayak lost balance due to low visibility in foggy condition.
Nayak, a native of Bada Bazaar area of Berhampur, also died in the accident. Earlier in the day, mortal remains of the eight deceased were consigned to flames. The mishap took place around 3 am when the ill-fated bus that was on its way to Berhampur from Kashipur fell from a height of 25 feet.
There were more than 50 passengers in the bus then. Rakesh had managed to come out of the mangled remains of the bus and informed its owner about the mishap. The injured passengers were rushed to Digapahandi Hospital and later 12 of them were shifted to MKCG MCH after their condition deteriorated. The Berhampur administration has asked MCH authorities to provide free treatment to the injured persons. Meanwhile, the documents of bus are also being checked by Regional Transport Officer Sanjay Biswal following a directive by the State Government.
Although the inquiry is on, sources said that the bus has almost all the papers required to ply. The 8-km-long ghat road has 10 hairpin curves, making it accident prone. Although the district administration has placed 10 ‘Accident Black Spot’ signages on the road, drivers often miss them while negotiating the turns. The SP said while police has written to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) several times in the past to initiate measures to stop frequent accidents on the route, no measures have been taken so far. On the other hand, locals on Thursday started performing ‘puja’ at the Kandhuni and Nilakantheswar temples located near the ghat road for safe journey of passengers commuting through the route.