Bareilly: Altogether 22 passengers were charred to death and 15 others received severe burn injuries when a state bus exploded after colliding with a truck on Bara By-pass on National highway 24 in the city during wee hours. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Joginder Kumar said here today that the injured have been admitted to the hospital here where condition of six was stated to be critical.
Earlier it was reported that 24 people were killed but later after all the bodies were taken out from the bus it was 22. The SSP said that several fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames coming out of the bus and most of the deceased were burnt to such an extent that their identification was yet to be made.
The accident occurred at around 0100 hours at Ivertis roundabout after the UP government bus of Gonda depot went on the wrong side and collided with the truck coming from opposite direction. The SSP said that the fuel tank of the bus exploded after the collision turning the vehicle in a ball of fire.
The front portion of the truck was also burnt. The passengers of the bus tried to get out of the vehicle but most of them could not do so and were burnt alive. Meanwhile, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, expressing his condolence on the death of the 22 passengers of the bus, has announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh to the families of the deceased besides, the critical injured would get Rs 50,000 and the other injured Rs 25,000 as compensation. (UNI)