At least 9 killed as bus carrying pilgrims catches fire in Haryana’s Nuh

Police said that the bus was carrying approximately 60 pilgrims from Punjab and Chandigarh, who had visited Mathura-Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh in the past week and were on their way to Chandigarh

Gurugram: At least nine people were killed and over a dozen injured after the bus they were travelling in caught fire in Haryana’s Kundali-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway on Friday night, said police.

The bus caught fire on the Kundali-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway (Twitter Photo)

Nuh deputy commissioner (DC) Dhirender Khadgata said a tourist bus carrying around 60 pilgrims from Punjab and Chandigarh was returning from Mathura-Vrindavan to Chandigarh via KMP when it caught fire near the Tauru border. 

The bus caught fire near the Dhulawat toll plaza around 2.30am, said police, adding they are trying to ascertain the reason behind the fire.

“As soon as the incident was reported, police administration officials reached the scene, and four fire trucks promptly controlled the fire. The police immediately took the injured to the hospital for treatment”, said the DC.

He said that a forensic team (FSL) from Madhuban will reach Nuh today to investigate the cause of the incident. 

Khadgata added that all the injured are undergoing treatment at the Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati Medical College in Nalhar. “Senior doctors are overseeing their treatment. After initial treatment, four injured individuals have been discharged, while two have been referred to a hospital in Delhi.”

The injured have been identified as Hansraj Singh, Payal Sharma, Soni Sharma, Swatantra Sharma, Sudesh Kumari, Urmila Sharma, Nisha Sharma, Anju Sharma, Meena Rani, Krishna, Naresh Kumar, Jasvinder Rana, Baljeet Singh, Poonam, V. Kumari, and Shanti.

Police said they have identified six out of the nine deceased so far. The deceased have been identified as Shashi Sharma, Gautam Sharma, Jovita alias Khushi, Sunita Bhasin, Darshan Lal, and Amar Rani.

Police have rolled out phone numbers for any information regarding this incident. People can reach out on ‘9996384249 or the police helpline number 8930900281’.