At least 65 tourists from West Bengal had a close shave on Monday morning when their bus driver suffered a heart attack while driving near Patapur in Balasore.
As per reports, the bus carrying passengers from Kolkata was en route to Panchalingeswar in Balasore district and was just a few kilometres from its destination when the driver fell ill behind the wheel.
With sudden pain in his chest, the driver stopped the bus on the side of the road before falling unconscious. The passengers called the locals and rushed him to Nilagiri hospital where the doctor pronounced him dead.
“The driver fell ill while driving. He was rushed to the hospital by local residents where the doctor pronounced him dead. We have requested the locals to arrange another driver for us who will take us home. The locals have helped us a lot. They called the ambulance and ferried the driver to the hospital,” said a passenger Amit Das.
“The bus suddenly came to a halt on the road. We thought tourists have stopped to attend nature’s call. But after a closer look, we saw the driver lying in his seat senseless. We called an ambulance and rushed him to the hospital, where the doctors announced him as dead,” said a local of Patapur, Mihir Behera.
The locals and the passengers lauded the bravery and presence of mind of the driver, who saved the life of the passengers by stopping the bus in time before breathing his last.