A tragic incident occurred early Friday morning when a tourist bus carrying pilgrims caught fire in Haryana’s Nuh, resulting in the deaths of nine people, including six women and three men. The incident happened at around 1:30 AM while the bus was transporting approximately 60 passengers, most of whom were on religious pilgrimages.
Visuals from the scene showed the bus engulfed in flames on what appeared to be a flyover or bridge. An elderly woman, who survived the fire by jumping out of the vehicle, recounted her harrowing experience to India Today TV. She mentioned that a motorcyclist noticed the fire and alerted the bus driver.
“I heard a sound from under the bus and thought it was due to the elevated structure. Later, I smelled something burning. A biker who had been following us overtook the bus and informed the driver about the fire. I was sitting in the front, so I jumped out,” she said. Many of the passengers were her relatives from Hoshiarpur in Punjab, while she herself is from Ludhiana.
Another eyewitness, a roadside shop owner, told India Today TV that he managed to break a few windows and rescue 5-10 passengers before the fire became too intense. Despite his efforts, he was unable to save more due to the rapid spread of the flames. “I brought water, but it didn’t help. The police were alerted, and around four fire engines arrived nearly three hours later, by which time the bus was completely destroyed,” he added.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
