Calcutta-bound traffic on Vidyasagar Setu was disrupted after a private bus lost control and collided with at least two cars and a goods vehicle, injuring 9 persons on Tuesday morning, police said.

Among the injured was 29-year-old Samriti Mondal of Uluberia in Howrah. She has been admitted to the trauma care unit of SSKM Hospital with multiple injuries. Doctors said they wanted to conduct a few more tests and keep her under observation to see how she responded to the treatment.

The remaining injured were discharged from the same hospital after treatment.

The incident occurred around 10.10am at a spot on the bridge where the Calcutta-bound slope bifurcates towards AJC Bose Road and Red Road. The private bus of Santragachhi-Sealdah route came to a halt after hitting a railing.

Police have arrested the bus driver and seized the vehicle.

All the injured were passengers of the private bus.

“The bus first hit a car from behind and then went on to hit another goods vehicle, which overturned on the bridge under the impact,” said a senior officer of Hastings police station.

“The bus then hit the third vehicle, another private car, before coming to a halt. The driver was trying to flee but our officers managed to catch him,” the officer added.

A bus would undergo tests to verify whether its brakes had given way resulting in the accident.

Transport department officials said the bus’s fitness certificate had expired on
January 9.

The bus is 11 years and three months old and is registered with the regional transport office in Howrah. “The bus was registered on October 24, 2013, and belongs to the Euro-III emission category. The tax is valid till April 23, 2025,” said a senior transport department official. “We are checking for the number of pending cases against it.”

The bus owner has been asked to meet the investigating officer at Hastings police station.

Most of the injured bus passengers were from Uluberia, the police said. No one from the private cars or the goods vehicle had to be rushed to any hospital, the cops added.

The accident on the bridge took place less than 24 hours after the death of a biker in a collision between a two-wheeler and a goods vehicle on Basanti Highway on Monday afternoon.