Agitated residents stare at the damaged bus amid debris in the Chitkora Bridge area in Patna on Sunday. Picture by Jai Prakash

Patna, July 3: Two persons died and at least five suffered injuries when a city bus with faulty brakes rammed into them in the Chitkora Bridge area under Sachivalaya police station at 8.30am today.

The deceased have been identified as Siyamani Devi, 50, and Chotu, 8. The injured have been admitted to Patna Medical College and Hospital.

Soon after the mishap, the residents of the area blocked the road under the bridge for hours demanding arrest of the bus driver and the conductor. They also demanded compensation to the families of the deceased.

Police arrived soon after to placate the protesters. But the residents did not allow them to tow away the bus till late afternoon.

The bus had started from Patna Junction for Danapur railway station. It had 20 passengers on board. After travelling for a few minutes, the passengers overheard the driver and the conductor discussing the poor condition of the brakes.

“We overheard the driver and the conductor discussing the poor condition of the brakes of the vehicle. The conductor asked the driver to be careful. On hearing this, many passengers, including me, asked the driver to stop. But he assured us that nothing was amiss. There were around 20 passengers in the bus at that time,” said Sarita Devi, a passenger, who was on her way to Khagaul.

She said: “We had a number of close shaves in the course of our journey. The driver kept speeding and that led to the accident.”

Eyewitnesses said the incident happened so fast that they did not have time to react.

“It was early morning. Most of the people had just woken up. Many were standing on the roadside, brushing and washing. The bus hit some of them at high speed. Some were run over. It seemed the driver had lost control over the vehicle,” Subhash, a resident of the area, said.

He added: “Before we could understand anything, the bus hit the boundary wall of a house and came to a screeching halt. The driver and conductor of the bus jumped out immediately and fled. The passengers came out of the bus somehow. Had there been more passengers in the bus, the accident could have been devastating.”

Another eyewitness said: “At least 12 or 13 people suffered minor injuries. But as the injuries were not too serious, they were not taken to the hospital. The administration should look into the matter. The drivers of the buses often drive recklessly.”

The men in uniform said they were trying to identify and arrest the driver and the conductor.

“This is a serious incident. This could have easily turned into a major disaster. The police reached the spot soon after the accident. There was a blockade but the police assured the protesters of action. The search for the driver and the conductor of the vehicle is on. The police will contact the district transport office to track them down,” a police officer at Sachivalaya police station said.

This is not the first accident involving a minibus in the city in recent times.

On June 10, a five-year-old girl was crushed to death by a minibus at Malahi Pakdi Chowk under Patrakar Nagar police station.

Before that, on May 11, residents of the Danapur area set a bus on fire after it slammed against a roadside furniture shop near Tribhuwan Park. Two people were injured in the accident.