UP bus fire toll rises to 63

According to the police, the collapsible doors of the bus proved a deathtrap for the passengers. “The passengers got trapped inside the vehicle as its collapsible gates froze with people pulling at them forcibly. The sudden fire had caused panic among the passengers and they all jostled to get off the vehicle,” said Inspector General (IG) Agra Zone, GP Sharma.

The fire reportedly started when the vehicle’s axle broke and dropped on to the fuel tank, apparently rupturing it. Sparks from the axle ignited the fuel and the subsequent fire engulfed the vehicle in no time. Around five portable LPG gas cylinders reportedly being carried by passengers, too, exploded and intensified the fire.

Most of the victims trapped inside the bus had died by the time the police and fire tenders reached them.

The IG also said the driver of the bus jumped to safety as soon as he saw the bus had caught fire. About 40 passengers, too, escaped from the driver’s doors while others trying to get out of the main doors got trapped, Sharma added.

The government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh for the kin of each of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured.

Meanwhile, yet another bus (UP 42 A-2530) carrying people from the same ashram of Mathura met with an accident when it rammed into a stationary truck in Auraiya district in early hours of Wednesday. One of the passengers, Mayaram, died while seven others were critically injured and admitted to LLR Hospital in Kanpur.