NEW DELHI, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- A young boy in India's southwestern state of Karnataka kept crying for help after a bus hit him on road, while the bystanders preferred filming him in pain on their mobile phones rather than taking him to hospital, officials said Thursday.
The road rage victim laid bleeding on ground for more than 25 minutes in absence of any help.
Anwar Ali, 17, was hit Wednesday morning by a state-run bus in Koppal town, 377 km north of Bengaluru, the capital city of Karnataka.
"A young boy was brought here in injured condition but he succumbed immediately. We heard he was lying on road for around half an hour," said a health official posted in Koppal district hospital.
"Had he been brought to hospital earlier and provided medial aid sooner, he could have been saved."
Reports said after being hit by the bus, it overran him and fled from the spot.
Meanwhile, police have arrested the driver of the bus.
Video images show Ali lying on road bleeding and writhing in pain asking for help as onlookers stand chattering. Suddenly a person brings water in a jug and pours it in Ali's mouth.
The injured Ali according to health officials was finally removed to hospital by an ambulance.
Ali's relatives told media he was working as a salesman at a shop and going to work when the bus hit him midway.
Local media reports described the incident as shocking and almost all the newspapers and television news channels carried the report to decry public apathy.
The incident highlights the increasing cases in the state where people are reluctant to extend helping hand to road accident victims.
Reports said last week a police officer who was trapped in a mangled police jeep breathed his last after an accident in Mysuru as onlookers stopped only to take photos of him rather than removing him to hospital.
Deadly road accidents are common in India often caused due to overloading, bad condition of roads and reckless driving.
India's ministry of road transport in 2015 said 146,133 people were killed and 500,279 others injured in 501,423 road accidents across the country.
Global Road Safety Report, 2015 released by WHO last year however, said India accounts for more than 200,000 deaths annually due to road accidents.
