At least nine people, including five women, were burnt alive and 15 injured in a fire incident near Tauru in Haryana's Nuh district in the early hours of Saturday. The bus was carrying around 60 people, all residents of Punjab's Hoshiarpur and Ludhiana, who were returning from the pilgrim towns of Mathura and Vrindavan. All of them are relatives, police said.
Police reported that the incident occurred around 2 am on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained and a probe is underway, a police official said.
A local resident said after noticing the fire, some people chased the bus on a motorcycle and asked the driver to stop. The locals also informed the police and the fire department. President Droupadi Murmu condoled the loss of lives in the fire and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured. "The news of the death of many passengers in the tragic incident of a bus catching fire in Haryana's Nuh district is extremely sad. I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the speedy recovery of all those injured," Murmu said in a social media post. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has expressed grief over the loss of lives and assured the best possible treatment for those injured.
