In a tragic incident, as many as five passengers were killed on Sunday when their bus caught fire after coming into contact with a high tension overhead power line. The accident took place in the morning when the bus coming from Raigarh in Chhattisgarh reached Nawadeeh under Bishrampur police station on the outskirts of the town. One woman and a child are among those who burned to death.
The police said that the bus was on its way to Aurangabad of Bihar from Raigarh and caught fire at around 9.50 in the morning. The ill-fated vehicle was carrying around 55 passengers. while the rest managed to escape with minor injuries. Most of the passengers were from Bihar and said to be travelling for puja vacations, police added.
According to DSP Ajay Kumar, one among the five killed was a 30-year old woman whose son Arjun too died along with her. Her husband has burns and is undergoing treatment at the community health centre. The dead have been identified as Munni Devi (30), Arjun (4), Md Jafim Ansari, Raju Kumar (19) and Ramavtar Das (50). Munni, Arjun and Ansari were of Bihar's Rohtas district while Das and Raju were of Palamu's Susiganj village.
Passengers used the exit door. Four injured undergoing treatment are out of danger. Eyewitnesses said that an overhead 11,000 KV power line came into contact with the handle of a bike loaded on the roof-top of the bus and the bus caught fire. The bus was completely destroyed and only mangled iron frames were left. The driver and the helper ran away from the site.
Power Minister Rajendra Singh expressed grief over the incident and held the driver responsible for it. The electricity board has announced Rs2 lakh each to the kin of those who died as compensation.