CHENNAI: It was a close shave for around 40 passengers travelling from Chennai to Bengaluru on an SETC bus early on Saturday morning when the bus crashed into a V-shaped median on an elevated stretch of the National Highway near Kancheepuram and dangled dangerously 40 feet above the ground.
According to police, the bus had started from Chennai around 4 am and was speeding towards Bengaluru near Dhamal village in Kancheepuram district. Around 5 am, the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the median.
The impact of the crash caused the bus to be wedged between the two supporting walls of the highway and the vehicle was dangling 40 feet above the ground. Fortunately, neither the bus nor any passenger fell, police said.
However, 16 passengers suffered minor injuries and scratches. Shocked motorists passing by quickly alerted the local police and 108 ambulance service, who rushed to the spot and took the injured to the Kancheepuram government hospital.
Police and fire personnel brought in a crane to lift the bus, which took about an hour. The passengers had to be rescued by breaking open the windows and pulling them up using ropes.
The bus driver, Alwyn, complained of tiredness because of which he dozed off leading to the accident, police said. He was arrested and released on station bail by the Baluchetty Chathiram police station. A police official said Alwyn would be facing punitive action from transport department.
The impact of the crash was such that the axle of the bus broke and the wheels attached to it broke off.
Traffic was diverted on the stretch for about three hours.