A Mahad-like mishap was averted at Navapur in Nandurbar district of north Maharashtra on Thursday, as local villagers rescued 17 passengers from a State transport bus got struck on a bridge that lay submerged under the waters of a swollen river.
A Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation bus (MH 20 Bl 2610), which was on its way from Jalna to Surat in neighbouring Gujarat, broke down at around 6.30 pm while it was negotiating a bridge while lay under thick sheets of water from the swollen Rangavali river.
There were in all 17 passengers on board the State transport bus which got struck in the strong currents of water. The bus slowly began to submerge in water. The stranded passengers screamed for help.
Eyewitnesses said that a group of villagers living in the vicinity of the bridge rushed to the stranded passengers’ help.
They used ropes and a JCB machine to rescue the affected passengers from the bus.
Simultaneously, one of the passengers alerted the local police control room which also rushed help to the spot.
Following the averted mishap, the MSRTC suspended the driver of the bus, Rakesh Dilip Sable (32), who is attached to the Dhule division.
“Since the river was in full spate, the driver should not have tried to negotiate the bridge. By doing so, the driver put the lives of so many passengers at risk. That’s why we have suspended the driver concerned,”Ranjitsingh Deol, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of MSRTC, said.
Taking serious cognizance of the incident, Nandurbar district Collector Mallinath Kalshetti said: "It was a grave error on the part of the bus driver. First, he had taken a short-cut route. Secondly, he sought to negotiate the bridge knowing full well that it lay under water".