Two die in bus-bike collision on NH-33

Ranchi: Two motorcycle-borne men, who were in their late 20s died, and around 40 passengers travelling on a Jamshedpur-bound bus had a narrow escape on Tuesday when their vehicles collided head-on and went up in flames on the Ranchi-Tatanagar stretch of NH-33 here. One of the deceased was charred in the blaze.
Police said the incident happened near Kargil Hotel under Tamar police station early in the morning. The impact of the collision was huge and flung the pillion 20 feet away. He was killed on the spot while the bike and the rider skidded under the bus.

The bus then dragged both the two-wheeler and the victim for about 100 metre after which the bike’s fuel tank burst and caught fire.

The flames then engulfed the bus and charred the bike and the rider. The bus passengers, however, escaped narrowly.

Tamar police station’s ASI Ram Narayan Ram said, “The friction caused the fire in the bike’s fuel tank and spread on to the bus. The passengers disembarked safely in time before the bus got charred.”

A fire tender was pressed into service but could not save the vehicles. A police team led by Bundu SDPO Ashok Kumar oversaw the rescue operation and arranged alternative transport for the bus passengers.

Kumar said, “During spot inquiry, an Aadhaar card was found and it belonged to one Sukhram Singh of Mayurbhanj district in Odisha. We believe that one of the deceased is this guy from Odisha. But we are yet to identify them properly.”

The bodies have been sent for autopsy and a case of unnatural death case has been registered. “If required, we will register a case against the driver of the bus. He could be booked for rash driving after a probe,” Kumar added.