Almost two weeks back, I had been to Udupi to attend my friend Shree’s wedding. After a long time, I was with my friend & ex-roommate Rohini and her family. It was wonderful tour. Shree had arranged for our stay in Kediyoor hotel.
After Shree’s wedding, we were traveling back to Bangalore. Sugama agency had changed the driver at the last moment. Driver was rash and had made us fly inside the bus throughout the journey. All of a sudden, around 5 AM in the morning, bus started moving in zigzag form. I heard people screaming on top of their voice and Meerakka Screaming “Chandhu…” (her husband’s name). Everything became dark within seconds. I don’t remember much about what had happened in next few minutes. Loss of memory :-).
When I got my sense back, I was outside the bus. Rohini was holding my hands. I saw Aadi (Aaditya - Rohin’s brother) shifting luggage from Bus. I could’t remember why and where I was standing. I asked Rohini why we were standing there. I could figure out that our bus had met an accident. But, I could’t remember where we were going and if my family was with me at that time.. When I asked Rohini the same question, she asked me to relax for few minutes. She tried to tell me that we were returning from Shree’s wedding. There was a house in front of the accident spot. Everyone in the bus stood or sat down near the house. I sat quiet watching people searching for luggage and a few of them helping others to get out of the Bus. I got my memory back after a few minutes and could remember that we were returning from Shree’s wedding.
The story of the accident goes like this.. Driver was in high speed and had dozed off which resulted in an accident.. It was a blind curve near Kunigal. Chandhu had got up from his seat to request the driver to stop the bus in Kunigal. When he reached driver’s seat, driver couldn’t even notice that someone is approaching him. At that moment, Driver had suddenly woke up from sleep and was trying to control the bus. But it didn't fetch any results. The bus turned towards Udupi again, moved to the corner of the road and toppled on right side (our side). Including driver, all the people who were on right side of the Bus had more injuries. Beds collapsed along with people on us. A baby from front seat / bed came rolling near our seat. Rohini found the baby near our legs and she gave the baby to her mother it seems.
Aadi was sitting in the last seat and Hadn’t slept when the accident took place. The moment he got to know that bus is not in control, he held some rod tight. That helped him avoid getting injured when the Bus toppled. Once the bus toppled, he broke open the emergency exit behind his seat and helped people to get out of the Bus. It was great Luck that Chandhu wasn’t in his seat when the bus touched the road. Maximum damage had happened near his seat. Due to the collision of bus against the road, there were sparkles it seems.
People pulled the driver out and he fled away. Though ambulance came after 40 minutes to the spot, there weren’t any first aid kit inside the ambulance. And the people from the hospital weren’t ready to give the stretcher as the place where we were waiting was not clean.
A lady had got severe cut on her legs and another person had his leg stuck inside the bus. Apart from those two, all of us had minor injuries. A rod pierced through Vishwas’s hand. He was the one injured to the maximum in our group.
Though the accident is a serious thing that can happen to anyone, there were funny scenes as well. A fat lady was sleeping on the bed above the seats didn't get injured in the accident. She was crying for her lost slippers that she had bought for Rs. 1000/- . In fact, there was one guy injured heavily coz, she fell along with her luggage on him :-).
Aadi was brave enough to break open the emergency exit and pull people out. His presence of mind and the way he patiently searched for luggage and handed them over to the respective people should be appreciated.
And.. one more family to thank is.. the people in the house situated next to the accident location. They helped all of us a lot. They switched on the lights at home which helped us in finding our way out of the bus. They refused money given by one of our group member. For them, any help they do to us would help them if they get into similar situation. If the accident would have occurred in Bangalore, first thing that could have happened is loss of luggage & jewels. I remember stories that people stole ornaments from dead bodies. Thanks to all the help they provided and let God keep them safe.. always.
By the way, I forgot to tell about Aadi. He is student of RV Engineering college, Bangalore. A bright student admired by all. A very bad singer.. (he use his singing talent to get his work done from me ).
After Shree’s wedding, we were traveling back to Bangalore. Sugama agency had changed the driver at the last moment. Driver was rash and had made us fly inside the bus throughout the journey. All of a sudden, around 5 AM in the morning, bus started moving in zigzag form. I heard people screaming on top of their voice and Meerakka Screaming “Chandhu…” (her husband’s name). Everything became dark within seconds. I don’t remember much about what had happened in next few minutes. Loss of memory :-).
When I got my sense back, I was outside the bus. Rohini was holding my hands. I saw Aadi (Aaditya - Rohin’s brother) shifting luggage from Bus. I could’t remember why and where I was standing. I asked Rohini why we were standing there. I could figure out that our bus had met an accident. But, I could’t remember where we were going and if my family was with me at that time.. When I asked Rohini the same question, she asked me to relax for few minutes. She tried to tell me that we were returning from Shree’s wedding. There was a house in front of the accident spot. Everyone in the bus stood or sat down near the house. I sat quiet watching people searching for luggage and a few of them helping others to get out of the Bus. I got my memory back after a few minutes and could remember that we were returning from Shree’s wedding.
The story of the accident goes like this.. Driver was in high speed and had dozed off which resulted in an accident.. It was a blind curve near Kunigal. Chandhu had got up from his seat to request the driver to stop the bus in Kunigal. When he reached driver’s seat, driver couldn’t even notice that someone is approaching him. At that moment, Driver had suddenly woke up from sleep and was trying to control the bus. But it didn't fetch any results. The bus turned towards Udupi again, moved to the corner of the road and toppled on right side (our side). Including driver, all the people who were on right side of the Bus had more injuries. Beds collapsed along with people on us. A baby from front seat / bed came rolling near our seat. Rohini found the baby near our legs and she gave the baby to her mother it seems.
Aadi was sitting in the last seat and Hadn’t slept when the accident took place. The moment he got to know that bus is not in control, he held some rod tight. That helped him avoid getting injured when the Bus toppled. Once the bus toppled, he broke open the emergency exit behind his seat and helped people to get out of the Bus. It was great Luck that Chandhu wasn’t in his seat when the bus touched the road. Maximum damage had happened near his seat. Due to the collision of bus against the road, there were sparkles it seems.
People pulled the driver out and he fled away. Though ambulance came after 40 minutes to the spot, there weren’t any first aid kit inside the ambulance. And the people from the hospital weren’t ready to give the stretcher as the place where we were waiting was not clean.
A lady had got severe cut on her legs and another person had his leg stuck inside the bus. Apart from those two, all of us had minor injuries. A rod pierced through Vishwas’s hand. He was the one injured to the maximum in our group.
Though the accident is a serious thing that can happen to anyone, there were funny scenes as well. A fat lady was sleeping on the bed above the seats didn't get injured in the accident. She was crying for her lost slippers that she had bought for Rs. 1000/- . In fact, there was one guy injured heavily coz, she fell along with her luggage on him :-).
Aadi was brave enough to break open the emergency exit and pull people out. His presence of mind and the way he patiently searched for luggage and handed them over to the respective people should be appreciated.
And.. one more family to thank is.. the people in the house situated next to the accident location. They helped all of us a lot. They switched on the lights at home which helped us in finding our way out of the bus. They refused money given by one of our group member. For them, any help they do to us would help them if they get into similar situation. If the accident would have occurred in Bangalore, first thing that could have happened is loss of luggage & jewels. I remember stories that people stole ornaments from dead bodies. Thanks to all the help they provided and let God keep them safe.. always.
By the way, I forgot to tell about Aadi. He is student of RV Engineering college, Bangalore. A bright student admired by all. A very bad singer.. (he use his singing talent to get his work done from me ).
I have a suggestion to people who travel long distance - especially during night times. If you have a choice, please choose Government Buses. There will be enough rest given to the drivers of Govt. buses and they will have speed limit. If anything goes wrong, there will be someone from the department to attend you or they can send you another Bus if required. In case of Private buses, drivers will not be given adequate rest and this leads to maximum accidents. I am not sure of other states, but KSRTC is doing good job here in Karnataka.
This blog entry is dedicated to Aadi man.. for his heroic effort in helping all of us. Thanks Aadi.
