25 dead as Maharashtra bus crashes, catches fire

A Pune-bound luxury bus with 33 people careened off course, crashed into a divider, fell to its side and caught fire, killing 25 people who were trapped inside, police officials said on Saturday.

- Pradip Kumar Maitra

The dead included three children, and the handful of people who escaped the vehicle described a horrific struggle to reach them as flames overcame the air-conditioned sleeper bus, which had toppled over to the left where the doors were located.

"The blaze spread in no time. Most of the passengers were asleep. A few seated in the last row of the bus could manage to escape by breaking the rear window," said Lokesh Gavai, one of the passengers who survived the crash and was now being treated at a hospital in Buldhana, the town closest to the spot on the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway.

The accident occurred near Pimpalkhute village around 1.30am when most of the passengers, who were travelling from Nagpur, Wardha and Yavatmal, were asleep.

Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis reached Buldhana Civil Hospital to meet the injured. Before reaching the hospital, they inspected the site of the accident.

"The bus driver and conductor have been taken into custody by police," said Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash. According to Virendra Dharne, the luxury bus owner, the bus left Nagpur at 5pm. When it was near Pimpalkhute, one of the tyres burst, causing the vehicle to ram a road divider and overturn. In the impact, the diesel tank of the vehicle caught fire, he said, citing a statement by the driver, who was among the survivors.