Bus carrying 64 devotees catches fire in Haryana, 8 dead and several injured

• Image Credit: Google

• May 18, 2024 | Pinaki Goswami

The fire brigade eventually arrived and extinguished the blaze, with the injured being transported to nearby hospitals...

Digital Desk: As many as eight devotees were killed and dozens injured after their bus caught fire on the Kundali-Manesar-Palwal Expressway in Haryana on Friday night. When the fire broke out near Nuh, the group—which included more than sixty Punjabi family members—was making their way back from a pilgrimage to Mathura and Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh.

Survivors reported smelling smoke at the back of the bus at around 1: 30 am this morning. After spotting flames, a motorcyclist pursued the bus and eventually caught up to alert the driver, who then stopped the vehicle.

Survivors recounted their harrowing experience, expressing gratitude for the timely intervention of the motorcyclist. "We had hired the bus for a 10-day pilgrimage to holy sites. We were returning home on Friday night when we smelled smoke while sleeping. The bus stopped after the motorcyclist alerted the driver," shared one survivor.

Upon stopping, local residents alerted the authorities and attempted to extinguish the fire and rescue the passengers. The fire brigade eventually arrived and extinguished the blaze, with the injured being transported to nearby hospitals.

According to the locals, the fire officials arrived three hours after the bus had completely burned down. "Before the fire got too severe, we rushed behind the bus and broke windows to save as many people as we could. We called the police, but it took too long for them to arrive," a local said.

The cause of the tragic incident is yet to be ascertained.