Maharashtra bus accident: These survivors broke windows to escape as fire raged

A luxury bus crashed and caught fire on the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway, leaving 25 people trapped and eventually engulfed in flames.

Pune/Mumbai: Charred bodies, mangled steel and last-ditch efforts to survive -- witnesses and survivors of the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway accident said the immediate seconds after a Pune-bound luxury bus with 33 people crashed and caught fire were moments of horror and helplessness as 25 remained trapped in the vehicle, which was eventually engulfed in flames.

Buldhana, July 01 (ANI): A view of the charred remains of a bus that caught fire while travelling from Yavatmal to Pune on the Samruddhi Mahamarg Expressway, in Buldhana on Saturday. Reportedly at least 25 people were killed and 8 were injured in the accident. (ANI Photo) (Nitin Lawate)

Ayush Ghatge, who boarded the bus from Butibori, an industrial suburb of Nagpur, said he managed to escape the burning vehicle by breaking a window and crawling out.

“I was on the last seat and sleeping when the accident took place. I woke up when a few people fell on me after the accident. I immediately stood up and started looking for a window to come out. I started breaking a window and three of us came out with each other’s help,” news agency PTI quoted Ghatge as saying.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one of the survivors said that after hitting the divider, the bus overturned and fell on its left side. “A tyre of the bus burst and the vehicle caught fire immediately. The blaze spread in no time. The passenger sitting next to me and I managed to escape by breaking the rear window,” the survivor said. The exact cause of the crash, however, is still to be determined.

A local resident said he saw people being burnt alive when he reached the accident spot. “Many accidents take place on this highway. We were called for help and when we went there, we saw the horrible situation...The tyres had fallen apart. People inside were trying to break the windows. We saw people getting burnt alive...The fire was so intense that we could not do anything. We were in tears...,” the resident said, asking not to be named.

Among the dead were Kaliash Gangawane, a 52-year-old English teacher in a school, his wife Kanchan Gangawane, 41, and their 21-year-old daughter Rutuja Gangawane.

Their family member Rupesh Gangawane said that the couple’s son had got admission in a law school in Nagpur and the three were returning him after seeing him off.

“The four had gone to Nagpur on Wednesday. We came to know about the accident at 5:30am. One of our relatives, who is a policeman, informed me that the charred bodies of the three were found embracing each other,” he said.