A rescuer at work in Howrah. (Bishwarup Dutta)

Howrah, July 4: Seconds after the bus crashed through the railings of Bankim Setu, Guddu Singh was at the spot to rescue the victims.

Some passengers lay groaning, a few near the door had their arms sticking out.

Guddu, a 22-year-old from Kadamtala near Howrah Maidan, broke the windshield of the bus to get in.

“We decided to break the windscreen since that was the easiest way to reach the passengers. We heard a faint cry of ‘Bachao’. We needed to act fast to save those still breathing,” Guddu said.

“We pulled out a few people before we could move inside the bus, stepping on shattered glass everywhere.”

During its plunge, the bus had hit some high-tension wires that carry over 40,000 volts of power. These snapped wires now dangled low over the bus’s wreckage, posing a danger to the victims and the rescuers.

“The first thing we did was cut off the power supply,” said Manik Das, deputy station manager of Howrah.

“It was drizzling and a live wire would have made matters worse. I spotted a child and rushed to take him out. All of us at the site realised that the bus needed to be turned around or else it would be difficult to rescue the others,” Das said.

The vehicle had landed on the tracks upside down and the passengers lay one on top of the other inside. Long ropes were brought from the rail yard and everyone joined the effort to pull the bus back on its wheels.

Gas cutters were rushed to the site. After five-and-a-half hours of cutting through metal, the police declared that there was no one left inside.