Buldhana accident: Survivor recalls horror; says escaped by breaking rear window

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde condoled the tragic bus accident in which 25 passengers were charred to death. He has announced an ex-gratia of Rs five lakhs each for the kin of the deceased.

Buldhana (Maharashtra): Eight persons survived the horrendous bus accident in which 25 passengers were charred to death in the wee hours of Saturday in the Buldhana district of Maharashtra. One of the survivors recalled that he and a co-passenger managed to come out of the burning vehicle by breaking its rear window.

Twenty-five people died after a bus travelling from Maharashtra's Yavatmal to Pune caught fire in Buldhana on the Samruddhi Mahamarg Expressway, around 2 am on Saturday, officials said. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has condoled the tragic accident and has announced a solatium of Rs five lakhs each for the kin of the deceased.

"A tyre of the bus burst and the vehicle caught fire immediately. The blaze spread in no time. The passenger seated next to me and I managed to escape by breaking the rear window," the survivor said. According to the survivor, soon after the mishap, teams of police and fire brigade reached the accident spot.

Meanwhile, a local resident said four to five passengers managed to escape by breaking one window of the bus. "But not everyone could do it," he said. The local also claimed that the people, who managed to escape, sought help from the other vehicles, which were coming on the highway, but nobody stopped.

"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," the local resident said. "People inside were trying to break the windows. We saw people getting burnt alive. The fire was so intense that we could not do anything. We were in tears," the local resident said. Police said that the eight survivors of the bus tragedy have been rushed to a nearby hospital.