Bus catches fire on Nag-Mum Super-Expressway: at least 25 dead
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Nagpur: At least 25 passengers were burned to death in their sleep and eight others were injured in a major bus accident on the Nagpur-Mumbai Super Expressway at Buldhana on Saturday.
The bus, owned by Vidarbha Travels, was on its way from Nagpur to Pune.
The tragical incident occurred near the Sindhkhedraja area at around 1.15 a.m., according to police.
The bus was reported to be speeding when it hit an expressway divider, then a pole, and was out of control for some distance. It soon exploded after a ball of fire engulfed the vehicle and trapped the passengers.
There were a total of 33 people aboard the bus, including two drivers and a cleaner.
So far 25 have perished in the disaster, while at least five injured have been admitted to the Buldhana civil hospital for treatment.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has expressed grief over the tragedy and announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakhs for the kin of each deceased and free treatment for the injured.
The police are probing the tragedy and the exact causes of the accident in which one driver was killed and the other survived.
With inputs from IANS