Bus mishap survivors recall horrors

TURA, Sep 30: It was something that no human in his senses will ever forget — a nightmare that turned real!
Twenty-two-year-old Chigam Sangma of Williamnagar is one of the fortunate to come out alive of the tragedy that unfolded at Ringdi river after an MTC night bus he was travelling in skidded off the bridge.
“Since we had left Rongjeng after a stop-over only a few minutes back, I was awake. I noticed that the driver was speeding and then suddenly we went into a crash. I somehow clung to my seat and avoided a major head injury,” recalls Chigam, while speaking to the local media in Williamnagar hospital where he is being treated.
He also said that the driver had been an inebriated state before his departure from Rongjeng.
Narrating the moment when the bus toppled over the bridge, Chigam said, “I was lucky to be awake and could get out myself. I managed to help some lady passengers near my seat to get out by the window. Others were not so lucky.”
Another seriously injured victim, 21-year-old Dimrimbal Marak of Samanda, East Garo Hills, despite being in excruciating pain, wanted her story to be known across society.
“The driver and helper were both drunk and this is the cause of our suffering. Please ensure that such a thing never ever happens again. Don’t ever allow drunk drivers to drive the vehicles,” said a teary-eyed Dimrimbal.
Another passenger who cheated death with severe head injuries was Emmanuel Marak (34) of Warima, Williamnagar.
“I was seated in the cabin with the driver. I had just fallen asleep when the accident happened. I am lucky to be alive,” he told press persons as he was lying on bed with bandages all over his injured head.