After a bus fire claimed the lives of 25 passengers in Buldhana district of India’s Maharashtra state, about 430 km northeast of New Delhi, instances of public apathy during the tragic accident have emerged.
One survivor recounted to the Press Trust of India how he and a few others managed to escape the burning vehicle by breaking the rear window.
The accident occurred on the Samruddhi Expressway when a private passenger bus going from Nagpur to Pune collided with a pole around 1:30 am on July 1.
Among the 33 passengers on board, 25 lost their lives in the ensuing fire, according to the police.
“A tyre of the bus burst and the vehicle hit a pole and caught fire immediately. The blaze spread in no time,” the survivor said.
“The passenger seated next to me and I managed to escape by breaking the rear window,” he said.
The survivor mentioned that the police and fire brigade arrived promptly at the accident site.
A local resident stated that four to five passengers managed to escape by breaking one window of the bus.
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“The people who crawled or jumped out of the bus later told us that they sought help from other vehicles on the highway as people were getting burnt, but nobody stopped,” he added.
“Many accidents take place on this route at Pimpalkhuta. We were called for help and when we went there, we saw the horrible situation. The tyres had fallen apart,” a local resident said.
“People inside were trying to break the windows and crawl out. We saw people getting burnt alive…The fire was so intense that we could not do anything. We were in tears…,” he said.
“Had the vehicles passing by the highway stopped for help, more lives could have been saved,” he added.
The police reported that eight survivors of the bus tragedy were promptly transported to a nearby hospital and are now safe.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has announced a sum of ₹2 lakh as compensation for the families of the victims.
(With inputs from PTI)
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