Greater Noida bus fire: Commercial goods found on roof, police probe overloading

A passenger said the driver tried to extinguish smoke from the engine before passengers were alerted. Two emergency exits were later found closed.

Days after nine people were killed when a double-decker AC bus caught fire on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida, police have found that the bus was also being used to transport commercial goods. Officials are now investigating whether the additional load led to overloading and contributed to the fire.

Nine passengers died after the Bihar-registered sleeper bus caught fire near Jewar. Police are weighing goods and examining whether extra load caused the blaze. (HT)

“We found commercial items such as bundles of marriage cards, wires, iron rings and other materials in the luggage compartment and on the roof,” said Rajeev Singh Sisodia, assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Greater Noida.

Police are trying to determine the quantity and weight of the goods. “Since most of the material was destroyed, estimating the total weight is difficult,” the ACP said.

Officials are also examining whether the additional load put extra pressure on the engine and other components and contributed to an electrical fault. “Our investigation is underway and we will examine this aspect as well,” the ACP said.

Police are taking the help of technical experts to determine the cause of fire. However, the bus was completely gutted, making it difficult to establish the exact cause.

Passenger’s account

Gokul, who was travelling from Noida, Sector 159 to his hometown in Ladpura, Mahoba told HT that he was asleep when the fire broke out.

He said, “I heard about the fire and immediately moved towards the exit, leaving my belongings behind. I found people struggling to get out. I jumped over a person and suffered head injuries.”

He said he had not bought a ticket online or from the ticket counter. He said he had the conductor’s contact number as he frequently travels from Noida to his hometown. “I had asked him about the availability of seats and told him that two people, including a woman, were travelling with me. He offered me a vacant sleeper berth for ₹500 ,” he said.

He said his acquaintances, Dassi and his wife Meera, were seated near the driver’s cabin along with two other passengers.“Dassi told me that smoke started coming from the engine. The driver stopped the bus and tried to douse the fire using a fire extinguisher, but failed. They then alerted the passengers to vacate the bus and escaped,” Gokul said.

The front portion continued to burn for around 15 minutes before the fire spread to the entire bus. He alleged that more lives could have been saved if the emergency exits had been opened and passengers alerted earlier.

According to the transport department, the bus had a seating capacity of 36 passengers, while a list of 35 passengers was provided to the police. The vacant sleeper berth was offered to Gokul, while four additional passengers were also travelling on the bus.

“If something had happened to me, my identity would never have been revealed as I did not buy a ticket through the proper procedure,” Gokul added.

Gokul, who was travelling for medical treatment, said he lost six months’ savings. The ₹50,000 kept in his bag was also burnt.

The incident took place on Wednesday night near the 33-km mark close to Dayanatpur village in Jewar. The Bihar-registered AC sleeper bus was travelling from Delhi’s Kashmere Gate to Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh and was carrying 35 passengers.

The fire broke out around 11pm. While 26 passengers managed to escape, nine were trapped inside and died. The driver and conductor were later arrested.

Two emergency exits, one at the rear and another on the right side, were found closed when firefighters reached the spot. They had to cut open the left side of the bus near the entrance to recover the bodies.

Fire department said they received information around 11.30 pm and took nearly two hours to douse the blaze. Six bodies was found in the aisle between seats and other three on different seats.

Police have so far arrested four people, including two drivers, conductor and manager of the travel company.