Mumbai BEST bus crash: Toll rises to 7

The death toll in the BEST bus accident in Mumbai has gone up to seven with four more persons succumbing to their injuries, officials said on Tuesday.

As many as 49 other persons were injured, as against initial reports of 22, in the incident which took place in Kurla (West) area at around 9.30 pm on Monday, they said.

Sharing details with the media after more than five hours of the accident, BEST said 'as per the initial information, the driver lost control of the bus'.

Further commenting on the accident, in which several vehicles were dragged or damaged along the way, the transport body said the bus 'speed accelerated' after the driver lost control over the wheels.

The bus driver, Sanjay More, has been detained, as per officials.

Three persons were brought dead from the crash site to nearby Bhabha Hospital, officials said on Monday night.

A civic official on Tuesday said the death toll has gone up to six.

The driver of the BEST bus lost control over the wheels on route A322 while plying from Kurla station to Sakinaka.

As a result, the bus dashed into pedestrians as well as some vehicles, according to officials.

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking's bus, after ploughing through pedestrians and vehicles, entered into a residential society, Buddha Colony, and came to a halt, they said.

The bus was a 12-metre long electric vehicle manufactured by Hyderabad-based Olectra Greentech and it had been taken by BEST on wet lease, an official earlier said.

The Mumbai police have shut the SG Barve Marg, connecting to Kurla station, for traffic movement.

As a result, BEST is operating buses on as many as 10 routes from other nearby locations instead of plying to Kurla station, an official from the transport body said.

Barve road is one of the busiest routes connecting to Kurla station.

Scores of passengers take buses to reach the Bandra-Kurla Complex and other locations from Kurla bus stand located on Barve road.  -- PTI