Lake Town: A bus racing another on the Bypass hit the crash barriers near the Golaghata subway and plunged into a ditch dug up for construction on Monday night.

Five injured passengers were discharged from a nearby nursing home after first aid.

The bus headed towards the airport from Ultadanga fell into the ditch on its side and blocked a part of the service lane, leading to a huge traffic snarl.

The driver of the bus on route 44 was racing another when he lost control while trying to take a turn to get on to the service lane, police said.

The driver managed to stop the vehicle after it hit the barriers but the front left wheel had got off the road by then, the police said.

There were at least 20 passengers but they scrambled out before the bus fell into the ditch.

The five injured were taken to a nursing home in Lake Town and given first aid.

The driver fled, the police said.

A traffic police officer posted in the area said the bus was racing another in an attempt to get to the service lane first when the accident occurred.