Driver rescued from mangled private bus in Pune

A bus driver was seriously injured when his bus rammed a truck at Chandni Chowk on Tuesday morning. Such was the impact of the crash that the bus was mangled. The rescue workers had to use a hydraulic saw to rescue the bus driver, who was stuck in his cabin.The injured has been identified as Priyakumar Pathak (34), a resident of Warje Malwadi. He is undergoing treatment at Sahyadri Hospital.

Senior inspector Satish Devare, incharge of Hinjewadi police station, said, “The mishap took place at 7.30 am. Pathak was driving a private bus used for transporting employees of a company. He was on his way to Warje Malwadi from Paud side while the truck was carrying cement to a construction site at Paud.

Pathak’s bus first hit the road divider, crossed over to the other side of the road and rammed the truck. The traffic slowed down till the victim was rescued and the vehicles involved in the mishap were towed away.”

Gajanan Pathrudkar, station officer of the fire brigade, told DNA, “We got a call about the mishap. We rescued the bus passengers and the truck driver. However, Pathak was stuck in the badly mangled front section of the bus. We had to seek help from the police and passers-by to remove cement bags that had fallen over the bus. Doctors too reached the spot. Pathak was stuck in the bus and his legs were bleeding. After struggling for five minutes, we were able to free one of his legs. It took 15 more minutes to free the other leg.”