As many as 22 persons were charred to death and 15 received serious burns after a State Transport bus on Monday caught fire in a bus-truck collision on Bada Bypass in Bareilly.
The bus of the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) carrying 41 passengers from Delhi was on its way to Gonda in eastern Uttar Pradesh when the accident took place near Bada bypass at around 1:00 am.
Senior Superintendent of Police Jogendra Kumar said, “The accident involving a bus of UPSRTC and a truck took place between 1.00 am and 1.30 am.”
“22 passengers of the bus died, while 15 sustained injuries. Six passengers are critically injured and have been hospitalised,” he said.
According to eyewitnesses, the bodies were charred beyond recognition.
According to police officials, both the vehicles caught fire after the collision. “The truck and the bus both caught fire after the collision. Fire engines reached as soon as possible but the flames were so high that it took us a lot of effort to actually douse the flames and reach inside”, a senior police officer, SK Bhagat said. Police also said that the diesel tank was completely damaged in the accident because of the impact of the collision.
The driver of the bus is also among the deceased, while the conductor received serious injuries. The driver of the truck is absconding.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences over the loss of lives in the accident, describing it as “heart-rending”. “The bus accident in UP’s Bareilly is heart-rending. I condole the loss of lives. I pray that those injured recover at the earlies,” he said.
The prime minister announced compensation of Rs. 2 lakhs from Prime Minister National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the next of kin of the deceased and Rs. 50000 compensation for the injured victims. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh for the kin of deceased and Rs. 50,000 for injured victims.
