25 passengers charred to death as bus catches fire on Maharashtra Expressway

The private bus was on its way from Nagpur to Pune when it rammed into a divider around 1.30 am near Sindkhedraja in Buldhana district.

MUMBAI: In a major accident at Samruddhi Maha Marg near Buldhana, 25 bus passengers were charred to death 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.

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.

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.