Mini bus plunges into Calvim river at Aldona, killing 7 including 4 students
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 18 February 2012 16:30 IST
Photo captured from Prudent TV
A major tragedy occurred at Aldona-Calvim ferry crossing, on Aldona side today afternoon. A mini bus plunged into the river, killing seven people, including four students.
The school students were studying at St Thomas Girls’ Highschool at Aldona and were returning home from the school.
Besides, two women and one man also got drowned as the bus submerged into the river.
The student victims include two cousins - Diana (8) and Elvina (11) Dias as well as Priyal Salgaonkar (10) and Nagel Gracias.
The three adults include Josephina Dias and Dayanand Hoble. The third person's name was not known.
The bus driver and conductor managed to swim out of the bus and fled.
Driver Rajesh Naik was later arrested by the police. He has been booked under culpable homicide.
As Fire Brigade could pull the bus out, the naval and air force as well as coast guard personnel got into action and succeeded in pulling out the bus by around 4 pm, almost three and a half hours after the tragedy occurred.
According to information gathered, the bus was taking a turn at the small circle at the ferry jetty, but could not succeed, due to which the bus went straight into the water.
The locals rushed to the spot to rescue the passengers but could not succeed as the bus had submerged deep inside the water.
According to locals, the driver and conductor swam to the shore, ignoring requests by the non-swimmer locals to try and save the passengers.
The ferry across also speeded back to the spot, but nobody jumped inside to resuce, till the locals knowing swimming jumped into action.
According to locals, they immediately called up number 100 to call the police by 12.30 pm, but the police reached the spot only after 1.15 pm.
Chief minister Digambar Kamat said he had told the chief secretary to order magisterial inquiry into the incident.
Family of each victim would also be compensated with Rs two lakh each, as per the usual procedure, he said.
The government has also cancelled all the carnival parades, beginning with Panaji from today.
Concerned authorities should thoroughly probe into this mishap and bring the culprits to book should there be any monkey business involved. Could be an accident for sure caused due to sheer negligence and taking the precious lives of passengers and kids for granted. But who are the concerned authorities that will look into these issues? Those who have not lost their own dear ones and not going through the pain felt by those left behind in misery? Harden your hearts and punish the concerned if found defaulted.
the govt. should have built a bridge since before....nw after the young life of children aged 8 or 11 is doomed with a terible accident, nw the govt. is still thinking to built a bridge..think think and do nothing...
Hope the good Lord give the victims parents and family members a strong heart ... May their soul rest in peace....
We need leaders who will be a voice for people who are sometimes afraid to speak up . It is not easy considering the setup of the culture of who I know is more important than who I am.
Right now we need to let the families of the people who died know that their pain is also our pain. It brings about a sense of community at a different level.
Also vote for people who are caring as individuals and that again is difficult as there are not many who would stand for elections.
Even if ten people try to make a difference it is worth it then all just complaining.
Many Goan Buses are like its well known Politicians....rickety,dirty,brakeless and on a uncontrollable rampage.Goan Politicians do not have brakes either.They are on a brakeless rampage to loot as much as they can.
May the souls of the deceased rest in peace.
In order to prevent such tragic incidents the government should insist in training public and private drivers before issuing licenses and all public transport should have emergency equipments and well inspected before they operate for business.
This bus should have never been allowed to be on the road in the first place.
Driver must take care himself but also all the passanger life to reach home safely end of the day
Its my place of birth and childhood memories come flooding back.
May God grant peace and eternal rest to the souls of the deseased & give courage and strenght to the deseased family & relatives.
The system of business of private buses , conductor & drivers in GOA and all over INDIA is pathatic and needs either to be erradicated or a strict system has to be put in place to avoid tragedies like these.
Sincerely wish that the Goa government come up FIRST in this case to begin a movement which will be a benchmark for all other s in INDIA.
The driver, the persons responsible for maintenance of the bus and the goverment authority who passes the bus for use is to be blamed.
Sympathies to the bereaved. Such accidents never took place in the Portuguese period.
In China, if some hanky panky is found due to which this accident has taken place, the transport minister and RTO would have been hanged.
samir
its so sad..i shocked after listerned to this news....RIP
May those souls rest in peace, n may their family get the strength to over come their grief.
The drivers must drive carefully because its not only u but so many other lives in ur hands.
Such a tragedy. Is the response time for emergency services so long? Lives are lost. It's a shame that our politicians are interested in filling their coffers instead of looking into welfare & infrastructure. Compensation will not bring a loved one back. Instead put time and effort to get rid of bribery and corruption and ensure that people have the right calibre to conduct a job.
So sad to read about the tragedy. I was a student at St. Thomas Girls school years ago. I have family at Calvin.
Drivers, in their urge to make money, take undue risks. they need to be educated.
God bless the families of the deceased.
Sylvia Noronha of St. Mathias village on the island of Divar
This is murder.They should be jailed for life
Don’t know if you read, the conductor was driving the bus, and was talking on the cell phone when the accident occurred. There was no brake failure as they claimed. The RTO found the brakes normal. Over and above the Conductor & driver opened the door and swam out of the bus and reached the safety of the jetty before telling people that there were other passengers in the bus before running away.