25 Charred To Death As Bus Carrying 33 People Catches Fire On Samruddhi Mahamarg Expressway
At least 26 people have lost their lives after a bus carrying them met with an accident and caught fire on the Samruddhi Mahamarg Expressway in Maharashtra's Buldhana.
According to the police, the ill-fated private bus carrying a total of 33 people from Nagpur to Pune rammed into a divider around 1.30 am near Sindkhedraja in Buldhana district.
What caused the fatal accident?
It is suspected that the bus driver lost control after a tyre burst and the vehicle hit a pole, collided with a divider and caught fire.
Most of the passengers were asleep when the accident happened and only eight of the people on board survived with injuries.
One of the ill-fated bus survivors said he and a few others managed to come out of the burning vehicle by breaking its rear window.?
What survivors said?
"A tyre of the bus burst and the vehicle caught fire immediately. The blaze spread in no time," the survivor said. "The passenger seated next to me and I managed to escape by breaking the rear window," he said.?
The survivor said that after the accident, teams of police and fire brigade reached the site quickly.?
Other vehicles refused to help
A local resident said four to five passengers managed to escape by breaking one window of the bus. "But not everyone could do it," he said. The people who could come out of the bus later told us that they sought help from other vehicles on the highway, but nobody stopped, he added.?
"Many accidents take place on this route at Pimpalkhuta. We were called for help and when we went there, we saw the horrible situation. The tyres had fallen apart," the local resident said.?
Saw people burning alive
"People inside were trying to break the windows. We saw people getting burnt alive...The fire was so intense that we could not do anything. We were in tears...," he said.?
Had the vehicles passing by the highway stopped for help, more lives could have been saved, he added.?
CM announces compensation?
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has expressed deep grief over the horrific accident in Buldhana district.
Expressing condolences to the deceased and their families, the chief minister announced an aid of Rs 5 lakh each from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund to the relatives of the deceased.
The chief minister also ordered an inquiry into the incident.
"As soon as the information about the accident came to light, the emergency medical service team deployed for the highway as well as the fire brigade reached the spot and started the rescue operation. The injured passengers were removed and admitted to the hospital," said the Maharashtra chief minister's office in a tweet.
For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit?Indiatimes News.
