More than 30 passengers of a Vellore-bound SETC bus had a miraculous escape when the vehicle rolled 30 feet down into the dry Krishna Canal from a bridge on the Bangalore Highway at Thandalam near Sriperumbudur on Monday.
Police are on the lookout for the driver of a lorry which caused the accident.
Police said the SETC bus (102B) left the Koyambedu bus terminus around 11.50 am, with about 30 passengers on board.
Driver Singaravelan (45) of Vellore was at the wheel.
When the bus reached Thandalam around 12.20 pm, a speeding tipper lorry brushed against the bus from its right after its driver attempted to overtake the bus. Police said the bus driver swerved towards the left and rammed the vehicle into the concrete wall of the bridge.
In the impact, the wall collapsed and the bus plunged into the dry Krishna canal that connects the Poondi reservoir and the Chembarambakkam lake.
The bus fell on the wall of the canal, rolled down and landed on the dry canal bed. Police said the passengers had a miraculous escape as the bus did not fall directly into the canal, but hit the wall and rolled into the canal. “The bus was moving slowly on the highway and it was the lorry driver who was driving rashly,” said sub-inspector Rakki Kumari of Sriperumbudur police station.
Passersby and villagers helped rescue the passengers along with Fire Service personnel from Poonamallee.
A crane was used to pull out the bus from the canal. Nine passengers and the bus driver Singaravelan suffered minor injuries.
Police are on the look out for the driver of the lorry.