What Led To Tragic Bus Accident Along Samruddhi-Mahamarg Expressway That Claimed 26 Lives

The tragic bus accident that claimed 26 lives on an expressway in Maharashtra on Saturday morning was caused by a series of unfortunate events.

The bus was travelling from Maharashtra's Yavatmal to Pune and met with an accident on the Samruddhi Mahamarg Expressway in Maharashtra's Buldhana at around 2 am on Saturday.

The driver, who had a lucky escape said the bus's tyre burst at around 2 am in the morning on the Samruddhi-Mahamarg Expressway at Buldhana city and hit a pole, which caused it to overturn.

Maharashtra police said that tyre burst was the main cause behind the fatal bus accident in which 25 people, including three children, were killed and eight others were injured in Buldhana district.

Officials said that the driver told the police that the accident took place after a tyre burst, causing the bus to overturn. Later the diesel tank of the bus caught fire.

"The driver of the bus who survived the accident said that the vehicle overturned after a tyre burst, and later caught fire killing 25 people on the spot and leaving 8 others injured," Buldhana SP Sunil Kadasane told ANI.

Bus caught fire due to presence of flammable items in vehicle, says owner

"We bought the bus in the year 2020. The bus driver Danish was experienced in driving. We have got information that the bus hit the road divider after tyre burst. Due to the presence of flammable items in the bus, the bus caught fire," said Virendra Darna, owner of the bus that met with an accident in Buldhana, Maharashtra

What survivors say

"I boarded the Vidarbha Travels bus from Nagpur for Aurangabad. The bus overturned and caught fire immediately after it met with an accident on Samruddhi Mahamarg expressway. three-four people broke the window and escaped, and soon after there was a blast in the bus," said Yogesh Ramdas Gavai, a survivor of the Buldhana bus accident.

Authorities issue helpline number

Buldhana administration has issued two helpline numbers for information about the passengers. The numbers are - 7020435954 and 07262242683.