Mumbai, July 01 (Hindustan Times). Vidarbha Travels bus (MH29 BE-1819) caught fire around 1.30 am near Pimpalkhuta Phata on Samruddhi Highway in Sindkhed Raja area of Buldhana district in Maharashtra. Due to this 25 people aboard the bus died. The dead include three children. The number of dead is expected to increase. Eight passengers have been badly burnt. All are being treated at Buldhana District Hospital.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has expressed deep sorrow over the accident. He has announced a help of five lakh rupees to the dependent of each deceased. The Chief Minister said that the treatment of all the scorched people would be done at the government’s expense. Shinde has appealed to the drivers to drive carefully on the Samruddhi Highway.
District Superintendent of Police Sunil Kadasen said that the diesel tank of the bus exploded after the accident. The crashed bus caught fire due to the spark caused by the friction. The accident will be investigated. The first priority is to identify the bodies through DNA testing and hand them over to relatives.
According to the police, the bus was going from Nagpur to Pune. On June 30, this bus left Nagpur for Pune at 5 pm. The front tire of the bus suddenly came off and overturned after hitting the divider. During this the bus caught fire. After the bus caught fire, eight passengers were able to get out somehow by breaking the glass panes of the bus. But he too got burnt. These people also got some injuries while getting out of the bus.
