Rajakumari, Idukki: About 80 passengers travelling on a bus had a narrow escape when the reckless driver almost drove the vehicle into a deep gorge. The driver of an excavator working with a road repairing team saw the tragedy coming and swerved the mechanical arm towards the bus and propped it up with the metal bucket.
The driver of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation bus has been taken into custody. Karthikeyan, 46, was under the influence of alcohol, the Shanthanpara police said.
The freak rescue happened at Erachipara near Thondimala around 4.30 pm on Thursday. The bus was on its way to Rajakkad through a mountain road that was being repaired when the sloshed driver lost control. The excavator driver, Ratheesh, acted swiftly to give the passengers enough time to get out of the bus.
The passengers said that the bus driver was reckless from the start of the journey at Bodinayakanur in Tamil Nadu. They said that they protested but the driver paid no heed. The bus even brushed against two jeeps carrying labourers before it was driven towards the edge of the gorge.
