In Greater Noida, a sleeper bus caught fire, killing nine people. Passengers said the helper disregarded the burning scent.

Early on Thursday, a tourist sleeper bus on the Yamuna Expressway near Jewar Airport in Greater Noida caught fire, killing nine passengers. Around 11:30 PM on Wednesday, the bus left Delhi’s Kashmere Gate and traveled via the Noida Expressway. The bus, registered number BR32PA8647, was heading from Kashmere Gate in New Delhi to Mahoba when it caught fire close to the 33-kilometer mark on the expressway in the vicinity of the Jewar police station, according to Chief Fire Officer Pradeep Kumar.

The bus was carrying about thirty to forty people. A number of people attempted to flee by jumping out the windows as the fire advanced. Nine persons perished in the fire, according to the Gautam Buddh Nagar Police PRO. Rescue operations are currently underway, with the Jewar Police and fire brigade teams present at the spot.

“On receiving information, police officials along with local police personnel, a rescue tender, a fire tender stationed at the Jewar toll plaza and four other fire tenders immediately reached the spot and doused the fire,” Pradeep Kumar said.

“More than 20 passengers were rescued safely during the operation. When the police and fire service personnel entered the bus amid the smoke, nine people were found dead inside, apparently due to burns or suffocation,” he added.

According to Kumar, an initial examination suggested that the engine lubricant oil may have caught fire due to a spark or blast in the bus’s air conditioning system. The fire then quickly spread. The nine dead are being identified, according to the police. According to an official, charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and reckless and careless driving have been filed in relation to the fire event.

According to the FIR, passengers noticed smoke and a burning smell and notified the driver and assistant. But they apparently disregarded the cautions for a long time. The driver and several employees were smoking in the driver’s cabin, according to the FIR. Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister, acknowledged the incident and offered his sympathies to the families of the fire victims.

According to an official statement, the CM instructed officials to make sure the injured received appropriate care and to offer the families of the deceased all the support they could after speaking with them. He declared that each family would receive Rs 2 lakh and each person hurt in the tragedy would receive Rs 50,000. Adityanath also wished the injured people a quick recovery. Burn injuries were reported by a few passengers who were asleep in the front seats.

A passenger detailed the account of how the incident unfolded. He said: “…After I fell asleep, someone woke me up saying the bus had caught fire, and we all scrambled to get out. It was not an easy situation to escape from; there was a lot of smoke.” “We somehow managed to get out in a state of panic. The bus was packed with passengers…”