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One woman killed as bus to Odisha carrying firecrackers catches fire in Bengal
The fire started from the driver’s cabin where some firecrackers were stacked and soon engulfed the entire bus reducing it to ashes in a span of a few minutes
A 34-year-old woman from Odisha’s Kendrapara district was charred to death while 24 others were injured after the bus she was travelling in caught fire on Friday night near Madhapur in Kharagpur.
Officials in Balasore district said Puspanjali Das of Nolia village in Kendrapara district was coming from Babughat area in Kolkata to Paradip along with her husband Rajendra Das, who worked in Kolkata, and their son and daughter when the bus they were travelling in caught fire mid-way near Madhapur between 9pm and 10pm.
The fire started from the driver’s cabin where some firecrackers were stacked and soon engulfed the entire bus reducing it to ashes in a span of a few minutes.
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The driver and the helper of the bus fled the spot immediately after the vehicle caught fire.
The bus was scheduled to reach Paradip at 5am on Saturday.
Balasore district collector Dattatraya Bhausahab Shinde said of the total 39 passengers in the bus, 31 were from Odisha, including 16 from Kendrapara, two from Paradip and seven from Jajpur.
“A doctor’s team and an ambulance have been sent there. The ambulance will help bring injured passengers to FM Medical College and Hospital if needed. There are 36 passengers who have sustained injuries in the mishap; out of them, 25 are from Odisha. We are bringing them back to Odisha,” he said.
Officials said some passengers got out of the bus breaking the window glass after the fire erupted in the vehicle.
Pushpanjali asked her husband to get down from the bus first. She managed to get out with her daughter. Later, she handed over her son to husband through the window. However, she was killed in the fire while trying to save an old couple.
