NASHIK: For Anita Chaudhari and her daughter, it was a narrow escape as they managed to wake up and run out of the burning bus in the nick of time, while several of their co-passengers were not as lucky when the vehicle caught fire after hitting a truck in Nashik city of Maharashtra early on Saturday.
At least 11 passengers were killed and 38 others injured when the private bus going to Mumbai from Yavatmal district in eastern Maharashtra caught fire after ramming into the trailer truck around 5.15 am at Nandur Naka on Nashik-Aurangabad highway, officials have said.
"We were sleeping in the bus, when we heard a loud noise. The bus had caught fire. Somehow, I managed to get out of the bus along with my daughter...We are lucky to have survived," said Chaudhari, who is from Washim district in the state.
Another passenger, Piraji Dhotre, said he was travelling in the bus along with his uncles.
"The accident occurred when we were asleep. Luckily, we got up and immediately ran out of the bus when we saw that it had caught fire. One of my uncles received injuries in the accident," Dhotre, who hails from Yavatmal district, said.
People residing in the area where the accident took place, said they heard a loud sound and came out of their houses to see what was wrong. But by that time, the fire had spread in the bus.
The blaze was so intense that they could not even go near the vehicle to help the passengers stuck inside, some of them said.