JOIN USAs many as 11 passengers had a narrow escape when a KSRTC bus they were travelling in ploughed into a petrol bunk at Goraguntepalya on the busy Tumakuru Road on Tuesday morning.
The bus came from Chikkamagaluru and was heading towards Majestic when the driver lost control and crashed the vehicle into the Gautham HPCL petrol bunk. The driver, Puttraju, later told police that he lost control due to brake failure.
The bus damaged a diesel-petrol filling station, a power-petrol filling station, an air-wind pipe, furniture, the fire-extinguisher section, a motorbike and one scooter, the petrol bunk owner said in his complaint to the police.
Noticing the bus heading towards the bunk, the staff and a few passengers ran for cover. Passengers inside the bus escaped unhurt, while the driver fled the scene fearing public backlash.
The Yeshwantpur police seized the bus and informed the KSRTC officials about the accident. The driver was booked for rash and negligent driving.
The police will have the bus checked by the RTO to ascertain if brake failure was the actual cause for the mishap, as claimed by Puttraju.