When some young students in Goa boarded a bus to go on a school trip on 18th February, they could not have foreseen the tragedy that would leave 6 passengers (4 children aged between 8 and 11 and 2 adults) dead at the end of the day. The bus they were on slipped into the river at the Aldona – Calvim ferry point.
The rescue attempts by the authorities were an embarrassing farce and it was local villagers and fisherman that prevented the number of people who died being much higher. Some examples of the ineptitude of the responding services include:
- the Police, when in attendance standing at the side of the river watching
- the Fire Brigade also standing at the side of the river until motivated by angry villagers who were knocking the helmets off the fireman. One fireman then dived in to attempt a rescue and subsequently gashed his foot which, due to the complete lack of any first aid equipment at the site of this disaster, then forced him to sit on the bank with his foot wrapped in a rag
- the Drishti lifeguard service attended and then claimed it was beyond their scope as they were not trained to swim in “swift water”
- the Coastguard helicopter attended and lowered a diver into the water who then promptly swam ashore and explained that they had attended without any diving equipment.
This, sadly, is not an unusual representation of the type of response normally mustered here.
After the bus had plunged into the river, the driver managed to escape and swim to shore where he then ran away. He later gave himself up to Police. This would have been to protect himself as I have no doubt that an angry mob would have found him and one can only speculate what would have happened. He has now been charged with culpable homicide but the details of how this tragedy occurred remain sketchy and contain many contradictions.
The initial reports stated that there was an issue with the brakes. The bus was driven down the ferry slipway and basically didn’t stop. After an investigation, it was found that the brakes were fine. There are now stories emerging that it wasn’t the bus driver who was driving, but the conductor and today the paper cites that there is the possibility of a 17 year old student friend of the bus driver who was at the wheel.
I can only hope that all allegations are thoroughly investigated and the facts emerge so those responsible are held to account to bring the families of those who died the answers and closure they deserve.
Our thoughts go out to the families of the deceased.
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