Nagaland: 2 passengers die after bus catches fires

Kohima, Oct 24: At least two passengers of a night super bus were charred to death and several others seriously injured when their bus caught fire, due to some technical snag at the Lahorijan area in Assam along the Nagaland-Assam border.

Official sources here today said the bus, coming from Imphal, was bound towards Guwahati with 28 passengers on board last night.

The sources, quoting eyewitness, said just after crossing the Nagaland-Assam border gate, the driver noticed smoke billowing out of the engine.

When the driver stopped the vehicle, the engine burst into flames and immediately engulfed the driver's cabin. Only six passengers sitting in the cabin were able to escape.

The other passengers inside the bus jumped out of their windows, as the flames also engulfed the entrance of the bus.

Traffic movement on the National Highway 39 was immediately stopped. Later, Assam Police arrived from the Khatkhati area under Karbi Anglong district and recovered two charred bodies, which were yet to be identified and suspected to be of women.

Meanwhile, Dimapur police confirmed that the injured were not admitted to any hospital in Dimapur and Assam police also could not locate the whereabouts of the injured so far, the sources said.

However, Assam police registered a case and investigation was on to ascertain the cause of the fire, the sources added.

UNI