A 19-year-old woman died after a private bus veered onto a pavement at Market Junction in Kottayam, Kerala, on Friday evening, while five women were injured and the driver and conductor were taken into custody, police said.
The deceased, Anjali Ajay of Nattassery, died while undergoing treatment at Kottayam Medical College Hospital on Saturday. She had been placed on a ventilator in the hospital’s surgical intensive care unit after suffering serious injuries in the crash.
The accident occurred at about 7pm when the bus, travelling from Nagampadam bus stand towards Changanassery, ran onto the pavement where people were waiting for buses, according to police. The injured included both bus passengers and pedestrians. Eyewitnesses told police that the vehicle was speeding before it mounted the pavement.
The other injured women were identified as Sreekumari, 54, of Ithithanam; Jaya, 51, of Mariyappally near Muttam; Anumol Suresh, 48, of Kollad; and A K Suni, 46, of Malakunnam in Changanassery. Sreekumari was being treated at Kottayam Medical College Hospital, Jaya at Caritas Hospital, and Anumol Suresh and A K Suni at the general hospital, the report said.
Locals, fire and rescue personnel and police helped pull people trapped beneath the bus and shifted the injured to the general hospital. Traffic in the city was disrupted for around half an hour following the crash.
Police said several people had moved into a shop veranda near the bus stop because of light drizzle shortly before the bus entered the pavement. That movement, along with the actions of people who ran clear after seeing the vehicle, prevented a larger number of casualties, officials said.
Police took the driver, Athul Biju of Kurichy, and the conductor into custody. The Motor Vehicles Department has initiated action against the vehicle and driver. Officials said a decision had been taken to suspend the driver’s licence and the bus’s fitness certificate.
The crash occurred in a space used by people waiting for public transport, highlighting the immediate safety risks at busy bus stops when vehicles leave the carriageway. The available report does not specify the precise mechanical or road conditions that caused the bus to veer onto the pavement. Further action will depend on the police investigation and the Motor Vehicles Department’s proceedings.
Anjali, who had lost her mother earlier, lived with her aunt and worked at a private establishment near Market Junction. The investigation and administrative action against the driver and bus remain underway.
