25 passengers, including three children charred to death as bus catches fire on Maharashtra Expressway
MUMBAI: At least 25 people, including three children, were charred to death and eight others injured after the vehicle they were travelling in caught fire in the wee hours of Saturday, police said.
The private travel bus carrying 33 passengers was on its way from Nagpur to Pune when it rammed into a divider around 1.30 am near Sindkhedraja in Buldhana district, police said.
Buldhana SP Sunil Kadasne told PTI that as per preliminary information, a bus tyre burst and the vehicle hit a pole, collided with a divider and caught fire. " The passengers were all sleeping at the time of the accident ", the official said adding that the driver survived the crash.
Eight others, including the bus driver and its cleaner, survived the tragedy as they managed to come out of the burning vehicle through broken windows, the police said, adding that the driver was being interrogated and the process of arresting him was underway.
Of the 33 passengers on the bus, 25 were charred to death, the official said. The remaining eight passengers have been rushed to Buldhana civic hospital and are safe, he added. Further investigations are underway.
PTI reported that the bus belonging to Vidarbha Travels had left Nagpur for Pune at 4 pm on Friday. It stopped at Karanja in Yavatmal district for dinner but met with the accident sometime after it resumed the journey, the police said.
Following the accident, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced a compensation of Rs 5lakh to the family of the deceased who died in the major mishap.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the bodies of the deceased were charred beyond recognition and if the identity of the victims is not established, then DNA testing will be conducted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other leaders expressed grief over the loss of lives.
The PM has also announced Rs 50,000 to those who were injured in the mishap.
"Deeply saddened by the devastating bus mishap in Buldhana, Maharashtra. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who lost their lives. May the injured recover soon. The local administration is providing all possible assistance to the affected. An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF (Prime Minister's National Relief Fund) would be given to the next of kin of those who lost their lives in the bus mishap in Buldhana. Rs 50,000 would be given to the injured," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted quoting PM Modi
" Home Minister Shah described the accident as heartbreaking. "In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives in this tragic accident," he tweeted in Hindi.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar expressed grief over the tragedy and said the government needs to take steps to curb the speed limit of private vehicles.
"The government should take immediate steps to prevent accidents," he said, adding he had expressed concern over the number of accidents on the expressway just last week.
Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Ajit Pawar said with the bus accident, the issue of security of vehicles and passengers has once again come to the fore. The government needs to work on emergency measures to prevent such accidents.
The spate of accidents on the expressway continues due to the bad quality of the expressway and human errors, he said.
(With the inputs from PTI)