Pune minibus fire: Emergency exit door failed to open as staff struggled to jump out

The fire spread so fast that employees who managed to step out couldn’t rescue those who were inside, said a fire brigade official from Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation

Four employees of a graphics designing firm were charred while five others sustained burn injuries after a minibus caught fire at Hinjewadi on Wednesday.

Firefighters later successfully doused the flame, and the bodies were retrieved from the vehicle subsequently. (PTI)

Police said the emergency exit door at the rear of the bus could not be opened, leading to casualties.

The incident happened around 7:30 am when employees of Vyoma Graphics, a Hinjewadi-based firm, were reaching the office when the minibus caught fire near the HIA office in Phase I.

Vyoma Graphics is a proprietorship firm dealing in printing and off-set services. According to police, there were 15 people inside the bus including the driver when the fire erupted at the driver’s cabin.

“Some of the employees couldn’t come out from the front door while another door for the emergency exit on the rear side couldn’t open, resulting in deaths,” said Kanhaiya Thorat, senior police Inspector at Hinjewadi police station.

Another officer said after realising about the fire, the driver Janardan Hambardikar, attempted to stop the bus but was unsuccessful and eventually jumped out of the vehicle in a state of panic.

The deceased have been identified as Shankar Shinde (60), Raju Chavan (40), Gurudas Lokhare (40), and Subhash Bhosale (42). They worked as a supervisor, printing machine operator, courier person and paper-cutting operator, respectively, the police said.

The fire spread so fast that employees who managed to step out couldn’t rescue those who were inside, said a fire brigade official from Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).

At the same time, those seated in the middle and back rows were unable to evacuate even as they tried to open the emergency exit.

Firefighters later successfully doused the flame, and the bodies were retrieved from the vehicle subsequently.

According to Thorat, the police and fire brigade are trying to ascertain the cause of the fire.

“It was a 17-seater mini-bus having 15 persons on board. Most of them were coming to the office from the Warje-Kothrud area. When the fire broke out, the driver jumped from the bus while it was still in motion. The vehicle proceeded driverless for some 200 metres before it crashed into the tree,” said Vishal Gaikwad, deputy commissioner of police.

“Six patients were brought to Ruby Hall Clinic in Hinjewadi for emergency medical care. Among them, two individuals have sustained over 40% burns and are in critical condition, one has suffered 20% burns, and another with 5% burns remains unconscious. One patient with minor burns is stable,” Ruby Hall Clinic said in a statement