Shania Sardar , a Class XII student at Loreto House, was sharing her earphones and a cookie with a friend when the bus taking them to school rammed into a traffic light and then a flyover pillar. The impact flung the 17-year-old against the backrest of the seat in front and shards of glass from the broken rear windshield rained down on her. A gash on Shania's chin soon left her uniform bathed in blood.

The captain of Keller House (Red) in school spoke to Metro about her ordeal from a private hospital in Salt Lake before getting 14 stitches to close the gash.

My friend and I were listening to music and having a cookie when all of a sudden there was a loud sound. My head banged against the seat in front and my clothes were covered in shards of glass.

For at least 30 to 40 seconds, I could not figure out what had happened. I had no clue that the bus we were travelling in had met with an accident. Then I saw blood all over my top and skirt. I was pulverised, almost like being in a trance.

I had been sitting by the window in the last seat on the right with my best friend beside me. About 15 of us had boarded the bus at FD Block in Salt Lake, after a pool car dropped us there.

We were listening to This one's for you by Zara Larsson and also discussing something funny when the accident occurred and the bus stopped.

The younger children in the bus were bawling: some had broken their teeth, others suffered cuts and bruises. All these injuries were the impact of ramming against the seats in front.

As panic spread, I knew that I had to get up and out of the bus. My friend and I tried to help the younger ones and all of us stepped out after a while. My friend had broken her spectacles and also had an injury near an eye.

All this while, I was bleeding, although I didn't realise then where the blood was coming from. It was only when I had got off the bus that a bystander told me I had a deep cut on my chin and was bleeding heavily from there (she also had cuts on her legs).

I called my father and told him that our bus had met with an accident. He rushed from Salt Lake to Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, where we were first taken. My father took me from there to the Salt Lake hospital.

I needed stitches to close the gash and now it hurts even when I try to smile or talk.

As told to Jhinuk Mazumdar