Around 12 people were injured when a Sonepur Mela-bound bus carrying around 25 passengers tipped over on Gandhi Setu around 5am on Sunday.

Most passengers were tillers from Bodhgaya. They were travelling to Sonepur Mela to take a holy dip on the occasion of Kartik Purnima. Sharing the experience of the accident with The Telegraph, the visibly traumatised passengers claimed the mini bus (BR06P-1695) skidded after the driver lost control. The driver, however, managed to escape.

Sources said police personnel of Ganga Bridge police station rushed to the spot within 15 minutes and took the injured to Hajipur Sadar Hospital. Ten-year-old Phusi Kumari, travelling with her mother, Shanti Devi, could not stop crying. Sitting on the footpath in front of the bus, before the ambulance arrived, she said: “Bus achanak se palat gaya (the bus overturned suddenly).”

Her father, Kamal Paswan, hailing from Bodhgaya, said: “I think the driver was drunk. He was driving the bus at a high speed and very rashly.”

Other passengers, too, alleged careless driving. “None of us could figure out what exactly happened as the bus fell on its side suddenly at a very high speed. We were lucky to some extent as the vehicle did not fall on the other side otherwise it would have hit the railing of the bridge and fallen into the river,” said Kunti Devi from Bodhgaya, who suffered injuries on her left hand and leg.

Ganga Bridge police station inspector Rajesh Kumar claimed the bus fell after it mounted the divider on the bridge. “The injured passengers were rushed to Patna and Vaishali for treatment. The driver of the bus is at large,” said Rajesh.

A few aged women passengers also suffered superficial injuries. “What was my fault? I have been visiting Sonepur for the past many years to take the holy dip on Kartik Purnima. The government should give compensation for our treatment expenses,” said Sham Devi, a resident of Bodhgaya, who was not sure about her actual age but seemed to be in her eighties.

The bus had also blocked the eastern flank of the bridge disrupting traffic towards Hajipur. Traffic was stalled for around an hour till the bus was towed away by a crane. Majority of the vehicles was carrying people to Sonepur Mela.

“The holy dip on Kartik Purnima is supposed to be taken at the crack of dawn but we got late today (Sunday) as our car got stuck in the traffic jam following the accident. The movement of traffic on the bridge is already a bit slow owing to the ongoing repair works at various places and an accident like this compounds woes. However, it must be said that the police took prompt action and rushed the injured for treatment,” said Raman Prasad, a resident of Mithapur.