Ghaziabad, Nov 1 (IANS) Three persons were crushed to death and five critically injured Monday after a chartered bus ploughed into a bus stand while trying to avoid colliding with a motorcycle on National Highway 58 here.

‘Three persons were killed on the spot and five of them sustained critical head and fracture injuries. The injured are admitted in a local government hospital, while the bodies of the three victims have been sent for autopsy,’ circle officer Dr. Praveen Ranjan Singh said.

According to the police, the bus, plying on the Modinagar-Noida route, was transporting office-goers to offices in Noida.

Around 9.30 a.m., a motorcycle swerved in front of the bus on the Delhi-Meerut road, forcing the driver to turn left to avoid collision. However, the driver lost control, and rammed into an adjoining bus stand. The driver managed to flee.

The bus (registration number UP-14 BT 5236) belonged to Mahadev Travels.

Police identified the deceased as Prashant, a resident of Modinagar, and Mobin and Sandeep, both living in Nandram area of Ghaziabad.