Jaisalmer bus fire: Probe panel finds major violations of safety standards

Twenty-two people were killed and 13 injured after a private AC sleeper bus, travelling from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur, caught fire around 3.30 pm on October 14

Barmer/Jaisalmer: A state-level investigation has found that the private sleeper bus involved in the October 14 Jaisalmer fire incident, which has claimed 22 lives, was structurally unsafe, with major violations of safety standards — including blocked emergency exits and the use of highly flammable materials inside the vehicle.

The probe panel found blocked emergency exits and the use of highly flammable materials inside the vehicle.

“The bus company had illegally modified the vehicle. Two passenger seats were installed directly in front of the emergency exit, blocking the passage completely. The rear exit door was also undersized, preventing passengers from escaping when the fire broke out. As a result, most of the victims were trapped inside and burned alive,” said the panel’s head and joint transport commissioner, O.P. Bunkar

The five-member panel constituted by the state government also has regional transport officer Dharmendra Kumar, Rajasthan state road transport corporation executive director Ravi Soni, Jodhpur central workshop joint general manager Hanuman Singh, and Motor vehicle inspector Navneet Batad as members.

Bunkar said, “The bus body had been extended beyond the approved length to accommodate more seats and sleeper berths, which made the vehicle heavier and more unstable. The materials used for the interior—such as curtains, panels, and sleeper partitions—were highly combustible, which caused the flames to spread rapidly throughout the bus.”

The team also found firecrackers and decorative materials inside the bus, but they appeared to be largely intact, suggesting that they were not the cause of the blaze. Investigators are exploring other possible sources of ignition.

So far, 22 people have lost their lives in the bus fire tragedy that occurred in Jaisalmer while 13 have been injured.

The private AC sleeper bus was travelling from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur when it caught fire around 3.30 pm on October 14. Nineteen passengers were burned to death on the spot, while one more died on the way to Jodhpur.

According to Mahatma Gandhi Hospital in Jodhpur, six passengers remain on ventilator support, while eight others are under close medical observation.

Bunkar said that the Transport and Road Safety Department has launched a comprehensive inquiry into the tragedy. The state government has also assigned the technical probe to the Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT), Pune, an independent body tasked with analysing the mechanical and safety failures. The CIRT team inspected the site on Friday evening and is preparing a detailed report to be submitted to the state government.