Surat: A woman was charred to death, while a man received severe burn injuries after the private luxury bus in which they were travelling caught fire and exploded in Gujarat's Surat city on Tuesday night, said officials.
The incident took place in the Varachha area of the city.
Primary investigations revealed there were around 15 passengers in the bus when it caught fire, which spread quickly in the vehicle, said Chief Fire Officer of Surat, Basant Pareek.
"While all other passengers managed to alight in time, a woman and a man got stuck in the burning bus. While the woman was charred to death, the man, who suffered severe burn injuries, was somehow pulled out of the bus by some people," said Pareek.
According to locals, there were very few passengers in the bus when it started its journey towards Bhavnagar from the Katargam area.
When it reached Hirabaug Circle at around 9:30 pm to take more passengers, the bus was engulfed in flames after a sudden spark followed by a blast, said Pareek.
"We believe a spark in the engine area started the blaze. The fire spread after it caused an explosion in the AC compressor of the vehicle. Due to presence of foam and other synthetic materials in the bus, the fire spread very quickly," the officer said.
