Mumbai witnessed two separate accidents involving Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses within 24 hours on Monday, July 20, raising fresh concerns over the safety of the city's public transport system.
While the first crash in Mankhurd claimed the life of a pedestrian and left several people injured, a second accident in Borivali later the same night resulted in no casualties fortunately.
The latest incident occurred on Monday night on SV Road in Borivali, where a BEST bus reportedly went out of the driver's control and crashed into a road divider. Although the collision disrupted traffic in the area, no injuries were reported. The BEST administration has not yet issued an official statement regarding the Borivali accident.
Earlier in the day, a more serious accident took place around 8:30 am on the Sion-Panvel Highway near Vishwakarma Hospital in Mankhurd. The BEST bus, operating on Route No. 501, allegedly lost control before crashing into the central divider.
The impact proved fatal for Bhaskar Raosaheb Pande, who was standing near the divider at the time of the accident. He suffered severe injuries and was declared dead on arrival at Rajawadi Hospital. While some reports identified Pande as 65 years old, others stated he was 62 and was travelling to Pune to meet his daughter.
The accident also left 10 others injured, including bus driver Banvari Shriram Prasad Sharma (51) and conductor Vaibhav Waghmare (41). Both were treated at Rajawadi Hospital and were reported to be in stable condition. Several passengers were also admitted to Rajawadi and Shatabdi Hospitals for treatment.
Following the crash, Sharma claimed that the accident was caused by brake failure. However, preliminary findings from BEST officials reportedly indicated that the bus did not appear to have any technical defects, suggesting that the exact cause of the accident is still under investigation.
The two back-to-back accidents involving BEST buses in a single day have once again brought public transport safety into focus, prompting questions about vehicle maintenance, operational safety, and measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.