Maharashtra: 25 People Charred To Death As Bus Catches Fire On Samruddhi Mahamarg

25 bodies are extracted from the bus. A total of 32 people were travelling in the bus.

At least 25 passengers were charred to death in their sleep in a major bus accident on the Nagpur-Mumbai Super-Expressway at Buldhana on Saturday, officials said. The bus, belonging to Vidarbha Travels, was traveling from Nagpur to Pune and the tragedy occurred near the Sindhkhedraja area at around 1.15 a.m., a police official said.

#WATCH | Buldhana DM visits District hospital to meet those injured in bus accident on Samruddhi Mahamarg expressway

The Maharashtra government will bear the full cost of treatment of the injured in the bus accident that left 25 people dead pic.twitter.com/LYPfrG5Uqr

— ANI (@ANI) July 1, 2023

According to the police, the bus was speeding when it hit an expressway divider, then a pole and was out of control for some distance before there was an explosion followed by a ball of fire that engulfed the vehicle and trapped the passengers.

#WATCH | Maharashtra: Visuals from Samruddhi Mahamarg expressway in Buldhana where 26 people died and 8 others were injured after a bus travelling from Nagpur to Pune met with an accident. pic.twitter.com/3JTRLzKuZH — ANI (@ANI) July 1, 2023

There were a total of 33 people aboard the bus, including two drivers and a cleaner, and so far 25 have perished in the disaster, while at least five injured have been admitted to the Buldhana civil hospital for treatment.

An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF 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: PM @narendramodi — PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 1, 2023

महाराष्ट्र के बुलढाणा जिले में हुआ सड़क हादसा हृदयविदारक है। दुःख की इस घड़ी में मेरी संवेदनाएं इस भीषण हादसे में जान गंवाने वाले लोगों के परिजनों के साथ हैं। प्रशासन द्वारा घायलों को त्वरित उपचार उपलब्ध कराया जा रहा है। ईश्वर से उनके शीघ्र स्वस्थ होने की प्रार्थना करता हूँ। — Amit Shah (@AmitShah) July 1, 2023

विदर्भ ट्रॅव्हल्सच्या पुणे येथे जाणाऱ्या एका खाजगी बसला बुलढाणा जिल्ह्यातील पिंपळखुटा येथे अपघात होऊन 25 जणांचा मृत्यू झाल्याची घटना अतिशय धक्कादायक आणि मनाला वेदना देणारी आहे. मी त्यांना भावपूर्ण श्रद्धांजली अर्पण करतो. या घटनेत 8 जण जखमी झाले असून त्यांना सिंदखेडराजा येथे… — Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) July 1, 2023

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has expressed grief over the tragedy and announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakhs for the kin of each deceased, and free treatment for the injured. The police are probing the tragedy and the exact causes of the accident in which one driver was killed and the second has survived.