Travel bus catches fire on Samruddhi Highway after accident; driver burnt to death

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

A travel bus collided heavily from behind with a truck while attempting to overtake on the Samruddhi Highway. The bus caught fire immediately after the accident. Onboard were 2 drivers and 29 passengers, totaling 31 people. One driver was trapped in the fire and burnt to death, while 21 passengers sustained serious injuries. The accident occurred near Lasur Station around 3 am on Friday.

The deceased driver was identified as Amol Shelkar (38, Wadi Mahalungi, Nandura, Buldhana). The travel bus (MH-19-CX-3015), carrying 29 passengers from Mumbai, had departed for Buldhana around midnight on Thursday. Near Channel No. 463 on the Nagpur corridor, the bus driver was speeding when a truck (CG-04-M-8711) ahead suddenly braked, causing a severe collision. Following the crash, the bus caught fire. Highway police, Maharashtra Security Force, local police, and firefighters rushed to the scene. The fire was controlled by firefighters, and the driver’s body was recovered and admitted to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The 21 injured passengers were also admitted, and doctors confirmed their condition was stable.

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Lives saved by escaping through windows

The bus caught fire immediately after the accident. Cushions and curtains quickly fueled the blaze. Passengers jumped through emergency windows to save themselves. However, driver Amol Shelkar was trapped inside and burnt to death.

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List of Injured Passengers:

• Nagma Pathan (25, Mumbai)

• Parth Pawar, Sangita Pawar (44, Asola, Buldhana)

• Yogesh Dilip Chandanshive (25, Malkapur, Buldhana)

• Sapna Raut (35, Goregaon, Buldhana), Samadhan Raut (40)

• Ketaki Deshpande (28, Buldhana)

• Aseem Sheikh (25), Shirin Aseem Shaikh (24, Mumbai)

• Ashwini Chandanshive (19, Malkapur), Mahesh Shelke (19, Chikhli, Buldhana)

• Raj Prakash Pawar (19, Deulgav Raja, Buldhana)

• Anil Borkar (28, Savarkhed, Chikhli)

• Sheikh Noman (22, Kandivli, Mumbai), Kamlesh Billane (23, Khamgaon, Buldhana)

• Vandana Jadhav (40), Vivek Jadhav (19, Jintur, Parbhani)

• Sushil Pathak (40, Chembur, Mumbai), Salman Ibrahim Sheikh (32, Mumbai)

• Ganesh Narode (48, Devpur Dudha, Buldhana), Nikhil Rathod (20, Malkapur, Pangra, Buldhana)