Beed: As many as 20 passengers were injured after a private travel bus overturned and caught fire following a tyre burst on a steep curve near Sarani (Sangavi) in Kaij tehsil on the Manjarsumba-Ambajogai road, about 50 km from here, on Monday at 2.30am, police said.
The private bus, operated by Vishwa Travels, was travelling from Jalgaon to Latur with 28 passengers on board.
According to police officials, the front right tyre of the speeding bus burst as it approached a dangerous curve, causing the driver to lose control. The vehicle broke through an iron roadside barrier and plunged into a ditch before overturning on the side of the passenger door.
Soon after the accident, another bus travelling from Nanded to Pune stopped at the spot. The bus driver and others rushed to help and broke the bus windows to rescue the trapped passengers. Shortly after the evacuation, the overturned bus caught fire.
Although all passengers were rescued in time and no fatalities were reported, luggage and belongings inside the bus were completely gutted in the blaze.
Police and emergency teams rushed to the spot after receiving information about the accident.
Under the guidance of Police Inspector of Kaij Police Station Swapnil Unawane, a team led by Sub-Inspector Amiroddin Inamdar and Shambhau Darade called six ambulances and shifted the injured to the Sub-District Hospital in Kaij.
Medical Officer Dr Awez Shaikh said that 11 injured passengers were later referred to Swami Ramanand Teerth Government Rural Hospital and Medical College, Ambajogai, while nine others were shifted to a hospital in Latur for further treatment.
The fire from the burning bus also spread to nearby farmland, destroying five trees belonging to local farmer Rajabhau Bhujang Gholve of Sarani village. The blaze burnt mango, jamun, tamarind, berry and lemon trees, leaving the farmer visibly distressed.
The injured have been identified as Rishikesh Bibhishan Palwe (28), Prashant Shivaji Gaikwad (28), Vishal Shivaji Gaikwad (20), Umer Sherakh Shaikh (three-month-old infant), Rajkumar Dinesh Patil (19), Rohit Ganesh Patil (30), Sudhir Dinesh Patil (40), Manish Trimbak Tayade (4), Ganesh Balaji Shinde (40), Chandrakant Brijlal Raut (40), Sanskar Chandrakant Raut (11), Mayur Yuvaraj Salunkhe (38), Prathamesh Rajkumar Kokare (20), Syed Abdul Rehman (20), Syed Rehman (50), Madhukar Bhagwan Kshirsagar (60), Syed Wahed (50), Mukesh Kondiram Joshi (25) and Avinash Govind Pille (20), among others.
Authorities are investigating the incident.
