Mumbai: Several injured after tourist bus meets with an accident at Sanjay Gandhi National Park

The bus ferrying tourists to Kanheri cave from the gate of Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) Borivali met with an accident on Saturday morning injuring several tourists as well as bus attendant.

According to sources, the accident occurred around 10 am when the bus, while was travelling up the hill, lost control. "The driver was driving the bus up the slope when a car travelling down from Kanheri cave suddenly appeared. The driver applied the brakes but as soon as he released it, the bus started hurtling behind and the brakes did not function and it simply turned on one side after falling into a small ditch, leaving passengers with blunt injuries and the bus attendant seems to have had a fracture," said an official from the park.

The park has received complaints from tourists over the maintenance of these buses as there have been regular reports of break down and tourists being left in the lurch.

"It's a serious thing and needs to be investigated properly. What if the bus had tumbled off the cliff near Kanheri caves while speeding down. Its gross negligence on the part of SGNP administration," said an activist and a regular to the park.

This being a weekend, as the number of tourists began to swell, there were long queues formed. Tourists had no option but to wait for the bus to go to Kanheri for over 40 mins. Meanwhile, forest department also put the vehicles belonging to the department in service.