The freak bus accident that claimed at least 25 lives on an expressway in Maharashtra early this morning was caused by a series of unfortunate events.
The driver, who had a lucky escape and is in police custody, said the bus's tyre burst at around 1:35 in the morning on the Samruddhi-Mahamarg Expressway at Buldhana city and hit a pole, which caused it to overturn. The police say this caused damage to the fuel tank and the diesel started leaking, causing a huge fire.
33 passengers were in the bus, of which just eight survived. Four of them have sustained injuries. Two drivers and one cleaner were onboard as staff, and one of the drivers was among the dead. The cleaner and another driver had a lucky escape.
The bus overturned on the side of the doors, blocking it, because of which nobody could get out. Those who survived were seated in the cabin on the driver's side, and smashed the glass window to escape. Police said most passengers were sleeping when the accident happened.
The bus, owned by a company called Vidarbha Travels, was going from Nagpur to Pune.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has announced ₹5 lakh as compensation to the families of those who died.
Buldhana District Magistrate's office has issued two helpline numbers for information about the passengers -- 7020435954 and 07262242683.
