Patna, Jan 4 (IANS): As many as 17 passengers were injured after a speeding bus, in which they were travelling, rammed into a bike in Bihar”s Banka district on Thursday.

The victims were admitted to Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Bhagalpur and five of them are said to be in critical condition.

The accident happened near Dhauni railway crossing on Bhagalpur-Hansdiha main road. The impact of the accident was such that three to four persons sitting in the driver's cabin fell on the road through the front windshield of the bus.

The eyewitnesses have said that the driver of the bus was driving at a high speed and the bike was also in high speed. The driver of the bus applied a sudden brake but by the time it collided with the bike. As the speed of the bus was very high, it crashed into the railing of the flyover and the portion of the bus hanged upside down. The bikers were also injured in the accident.

The victims included a bank manager, a teacher and some health employees who were on the way to their respective offices.

“We have carried out a rescue operation using ambulances and taken them to the JLN Medical College. The treatment of the victims is underway,” said Manoj Kumar Singh, SHO of Rajaun police station in Banka.