Mass funeral to be held for deceased Mumbai-Nagpur expressway today

The last rites of those lost in the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway bus accident will be performed on Sunday. After the bus accident killed at least 25 people and left eight others injured.Charred bodies, mangled steel and last-ditch efforts to survive -- witnesses and survivors of the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway accident said the immediate seconds after a Pune-bound luxury bus with 33 people crashed and caught fire were moments of horror and helplessness as 25 remained trapped in the vehicle, which was eventually engulfed in flames.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one of the survivors said that after hitting the divider, the bus overturned and fell on its left side. “A tyre of the bus burst and the vehicle caught fire immediately. The blaze spread in no time. The passenger sitting next to me and I managed to escape by breaking the rear window,” the survivor said. The exact cause of the crash, however, is still to be determined.

A local resident said he saw people being burnt alive when he reached the accident spot. “Many accidents take place on this highway. We were called for help and when we went there, we saw the horrible situation...The tyres had fallen apart. People inside were trying to break the windows. We saw people getting burnt alive...The fire was so intense that we could not do anything. We were in tears...,” the resident said, asking not to be named.