Surat-Kanpur Passenger Bus Catches Fire In MP's Sardarpur, Passengers Escape Through Windows; Several Injured

Sardarpur (Madhya Pradesh): A passenger bus travelling from Surat in Gujarat to Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh caught fire near the Bhopawar four-lane junction in Sardarpur at 1.10 am on Monday.

Panic gripped passengers as smoke began filling the vehicle, forcing them to rush out through the doors and windows.

According to passengers, the driver stopped the bus after noticing smoke and reportedly left the spot. Several passengers managed to escape through the door, while others broke windowpanes to save themselves.

Some passengers sustained minor injuries, while luggage and valuables kept inside the bus were destroyed in the fire.

The bus was carrying passengers from Surat and other parts of Gujarat to Kanpur. Passengers alleged that the bus had remained parked for nearly four hours at a hotel near Dahod for repair work before continuing its journey.

Kanpur resident Neelam Pal said she was travelling with her eight-year-old son.

As smoke filled the bus, she first pushed her son out through a window before escaping herself. Her bag containing cash, silver anklets, clothes and other belongings was burnt.

Sardarpur police reached the spot and diverted traffic. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, while injured passengers were sent for treatment. Police later arranged alternative buses to help stranded passengers continue their journey.

Sardarpur's fire tender out of order for 2 months

SARDARPUR: Unavailable for the past two months, Sardarpur's fire tender could not respond when a passenger bus caught fire near the Bhopawar four-lane junction, barely one kilometre from the town.

Police called fire brigades from Sardarpur, Rajgarh and Dhar after the fire broke out.

Fire tenders from Rajgarh, around six kilometres away and Dhar, nearly 40 kilometres away, reached the spot and brought the blaze under control. By then, however, the bus had been almost completely gutted.

Sardarpur municipal council CMO Ranjit Singh Rawat said the town's fire tender had remained out of order for the past two months and was recently sent to Indore for repairs. The vehicle has not yet returned.