'Broke rear window to..,' Maharashtra bus tragedy survivor recounts how he came out of burning vehicle alive
2 min read 01 Jul 2023, 09:31 AM ISTA survivor of a bus accident in Maharashtra's Buldhana district recounts how he escaped the burning vehicle by breaking the rear window. 25 passengers died in the accident.
PremiumA survivor of the bus incident in Maharashtra's Buldhana district, where 25 passengers lost their lives, has recounted the experience of escaping the burning vehicle.
As reported by PTI, according to the survivor, he and a few others were able to exit the bus by breaking the rear window. The accident occurred on the Samruddhi Expressway near Sindkhedraja in Buldhana, when a private passenger bus travelling from Nagpur to Pune collided with a road divider around 1:30 am.
"A tyre of the bus burst and the vehicle 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.
Survivor noted that, following the accident, prompt response teams comprising of police and fire brigade arrived at the scene swiftly. Additionally, a local resident reported that approximately four to five passengers were able to flee by breaking a single window of the bus.
"But not everyone could do it," he said. The people who could come out of the bus later told us that they sought help from other vehicles on the highway, but nobody stopped, he added.
The local resident added that 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 added.
"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...," he said.
The police noted that had the vehicles passing by the highway stopped for help, more lives could have been saved, he added. “Eight survivors of the bus tragedy have been rushed to a nearby hospital and are safe."
“The driver said that the accident took place after a tyre burst, leading to flames in the bus. Later the diesel tank of the vehicle caught fire. There are 3 children among those who died and the rest are adults. The exact reason for the accident has not yet been ascertained," Buldhana Police Deputy SP Baburao Mahamuni told ANI.
(With inputs from agencies)
