KTC bus goes off road at Verna, 20 persons injured

Vasco: Twenty people, including a Kadamba transport corporation (KTC) bus driver, were injured in a road accident at Pirni in Verna on Saturday.
In his statement to the police, the driver, Tony Fernandes, said that the bus suffered a brake failure which caused the accident. The police said that they have apprised the RTO department of the matter. The bus will be inspected on Monday to ascertain the cause of the accident, a source said.
Of the 20 persons, only two, including the driver of the bus have been kept under observation at the Goa medical college (GMC) and hospital at Bambolim.
The bus had left from Vasco. Going through its route, when it reached near the Cabral petrol pump at 9.45 am on Saturday morning at Pirni, Verna, Fernandes, a resident of Sanguem, lost control and went off the road. The bus hit a rocky place in the bushes and came to a halt. Of the 30 passengers in the bus, 20 were reported injured. People rushed to help the passengers. Of the 20, 14 passengers were taken to Hospicio in Margao and were discharged after treatment. Two of them went to a private hospital and were discharged.
Four passengers were shifted to GMC. Only two injured, Tereza Vinit, 35, a resident of Altinho-Panaji and Fernandes, have been kept under observation. Fernandes received head injuries.
He hit the steering wheel at the time of the accident.
The statements of the passengers have not been recorded yet.
Verna police have registered the case and Hawaldar Santosh Gaonkar is the investigating officer.