Bus coming from Rajasthan to Gujarat burst into flames, 1 passenger killed: Passengers jump out of window to save lives, 6 more seriously burnt, AMTS burns in Ahmedabad

A massive fire broke out in a private luxury sleeper bus near Nenawa village in Dhanera taluka of Banaskantha district late last night (March 12). The fire broke out in the bus, which was coming from Rajasthan to Gujarat, killing one passenger on the spot while 6 others sustained serious burns. In another incident, an AMTS bus caught fire in Paldi area of Ahmedabad city. Smoke suddenly came out of the engine of the bus going from Lal Darwaza to Bavla and the fire started. However, the driver used a timer to get all the passengers down. According to reports, the fire broke out at around 3.30 am when a private travels sleeper bus from Jaisalmer in Rajasthan to Ahmedabad was passing near Nenava village. Most of the passengers were fast asleep at this time. In no time, the fire engulfed the entire bus. There was a huge stampede and screams in the bus amidst flames and smoke puffs of passengers jumping out of the window to save their lives. Finding it impossible to get out of the gate, many passengers jumped out by breaking the windows of the moving bus to save their lives. In the chaos, a passenger was caught in the fire and died inside the bus. "We were returning to Ahmedabad after attending a wedding in Jaisalmer. Suddenly the bus caught fire. It is not known how the fire broke out but all the people were trapped in the bus. They have been brought to the hospital for treatment. Locals and a team of 108 emergency ambulance rushed to the spot as soon as the incident was reported. All the 6 passengers with burn injuries have been rushed to Dhanera Referral Hospital. According to doctors, the condition of some of the injured is extremely critical. Apart from the Dhanera municipality, firefighters were also called in from Sanchore in the neighbouring state of Rajasthan to douse the fire. The fire was brought under control after hours of struggle, but by then the bus was completely gutted. Dhanera police reached the spot and shifted the body for postmortem and further investigation is underway. The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, but preliminary estimates suggest that the accident may have been caused by a short circuit. The traffic police restored the traffic that was disrupted due to the accident on the highway. The incident has once again raised serious questions about the safety of passengers and the availability of fire safety equipment in private buses. Talking about another incident, an AMTS bus caught fire in Paldi area of Ahmedabad. The bus was heading towards Bavla from Lal Darwaza when the bus was stopping near the Paldi Mahalaxmi crossroads Jain Merchant Bus Stand to pick up passengers, suddenly smoke came out of the engine and caught fire. So the driver used the timer to get all the passengers down. The fire brigade team reached the spot and doused the fire with water cannon. Fortunately, there were no casualties in the incident. Read the full report...