Kurla bus crash: Had I been two seconds late, I wouldn’t have been alive today, survivors recount horror

Aman Khan 24 who was returning from Masjid Bunder to his shop in Kapadia Nagar was severely injured He was squeezed between a Qualis car and an auto involved in the accident Lying on the fourth floor of Bhabha hospital in Kurla West Aman said ldquoI work as a helper at a shop in Kapadia Nagar across from L B S Road I was returning from Kurla West railway station and walking along S G Barve Road when I saw the bus speeding towards me It had already hit an autorickshaw and swerved towards me Before I could react the bus hit me and I was thrown to the ground Luckily I rolled over and saved myselfrdquoAman Khan admitted to Bhabha hospital PicRajendra B AklekarAnother victim Basheera Shaikh 58 at Kurlarsquos Bhabha hospital said she sustained injuries to the back of her head after the speeding bus hit her auto ldquoI took a shared auto from Kurla station and was on my way for sonography and CT scan when my auto was hit and smashed from behind by some force It was a heavy vehicle and we later realised it was a BEST bus We started shouting and couldnrsquot even get off quickly as our auto was being dragged ahead There were five of us in the auto including the rickshaw driver We later managed to jump off injuring ourselves I was lying on the road for some time and later someone brought us here One of my gold earrings went missing in the meleerdquo she addedA narrow escapeSukharam Paswan a sweet potato vendor narrowly escaped the Kurla bus tragedy which claimed the lives of seven people Originally from Uttar Pradesh Paswan is a resident of Shankar Mandir in Kurla where he sells baked sweet potatoes to earn a living Describing his neardeath experience Paswan said ldquoIf I had been two seconds late in getting out of the way I wouldnrsquot have been alive today The bus hit my sweet potato stall I consider myself very lucky to be alive I have minor injuries and 23 stitches on my legrdquoMohsin Khan an auto driver helped in rescuing the injured right Yasmin Ansari a Kurla resident PicsPrasun ChoudhariHe added ldquoThe experience was horrifying and traumatic For a split second I thought that day would be my last When the bus passed I was just inches away from it The bus hit my stall then damaged a vehicle parked next to it and continued on A young woman who seemed to be around 1920 years old was crushed just moments after the bus hit my stall The sight was horrifying Later after being released from the hospital I learned that the young woman who was crushed was Afreen Sheikh whose family lives near the Kurla Bus DepotrdquoCCTV footage from a shop near the spot accessed by midday shows Paswan running to save his life The footage shows Paswan running toward the footpath then realising that his leg was injured He sat on the footpath for a brief period Pradeep Dive a resident of Buddha Colony where the bus finally collided and stopped shared his close call with the accidentHe said ldquoI was standing near the wall that the bus crashed into Around 9930 pm I saw the bus coming towards me and immediately ran to the side which saved my life Unfortunately a woman who works at a clinic next to the building was hit by the bus as she came out of the clinic at the last moment Irsquom not sure about her condition but the experience was very traumatic I still get horrified just thinking about the accident and what would have happened if I hadnrsquot moved away from the wallrdquoEyewitnesses and residentsYasmin Ansari a Kurla resident told midday ldquoThese bus drivers donrsquot even think about school children Therersquos a municipal school just near the spot of the incident These bus drivers drive at high speed even when school children are leaving or going to school At least the drivers should understand that the lives of schoolchildren are at risk What happened was very sad and strict action should be taken against those responsiblerdquoPicRajendra B AklekarAnother shop owner who requested anonymity said ldquoI was in my shop when the incident happened Around 915930 pm the bus hit a sweet potato stall and then completely crushed a young woman just after hitting the stall The bus continued I was about to close my shop and leave when this happened Luckily I wasnrsquot on the roadrdquoRescuer SpeakMohsin Khan an auto driver based in Kurla was on his way home when the accident happened Describing his rescue attempt he said ldquoI saw the bus hitting people and vehicles Without thinking even for a split second I stopped my auto and started checking on the survivors I was able to take at least seven individuals to Bhabha hospital on the night of the incident The scene was horrifying with some people completely crushed under the bus The road is narrow here I later learned that the bus had finally collided with the wall of a building Any sane driver would do the same If a vehicle goes out of control any sane driver would look for a safe location to crash the vehicle so that it stopsrdquo