Human Error Suspected, Tyre Burst Ruled Out In Maharashtra Bus Fire
NDTV
Police believe that the driver of the bus dozed off and lost control of the vehicle.
The Maharashtra Police suspect "human error" caused the bus accident on the Samruddhi Expressway in Buldhana district in the early hours of Saturday in which 25 passengers were charred to death, an official said.
Contrary to the driver's claim that the private sleeper coach caught fire after hitting a divider following a tyre burst, police believe that he dozed off and lost control of the vehicle, said the official of the state highway police.
A total of 33 people were on board the bus which was going to Pune from Nagpur. The accident occurred at 1.30 am at Pimpalkhuta village near Sindkhedraja, killing 25. Eight others, including the driver and the cleaner of the bus, survived as they managed to come out of the broken window, according to the police.
After the halt for dinner at Karanja in Yavatmal district, the bus travelled around 150 kilometres up to Sindkhedraja on the Mumbai-Nagpur high-speed carriageway in about two and a half hours. This indicates the average speed of the bus was 60-70 kilometres per hour, he said.