PONDA: In a head-on collision between a speeding KTC bus and a private passenger minibus, 35 passengers were injured, five of them seriously, at GVM circle at Ponda, on Thursday at 2.30 pm.
The accident took place, when the KTC bus that was proceeding towards Panajim from Ponda, after crossing the GVM circle, went to his extreme right of the dangerous turn, while the oncoming private minibus finding no space to negotiate, collided with the KTC bus.
The driver and many passengers in the private bus were trapped due to the accident, while in the KTC bus the driver also suffered the same fate. The trapped persons were rescued by Ponda fire personnel.
With the injured passengers crying in pain, the rescuers and emergency personnel running hither thither, the place turned chaotic for a while.
Later, the injured passengers were taken to the Sub-District Hospital at Ponda in several 108 ambulances. The police, fire personnel, locals and passersby helped the ambulance staff in shifting the injured to the vehicles. Subsequently, the seriously injured were transferred to Goa Medical College Hospital at Bambolim.
And on hearing of the accident, relatives of the injured passengers rushed to Sub-District Hospital at Ponda and also to Goa Medical College Hospital at Bambolim, to attend to their loved ones.
Meanwhile, the injured from both buses faulted the KTC driver for the accident. The traffic was halted for two hours after accident.
Ponda police have registered an offence of rash and negligent driving against the KTC driver. Ponda PI Hairsh Marcaikar and DySP Mahesh Gaonkar oversaw the rescue operation.
