'Managed to escape by breaking the rear window...': Survivor recounts horrific Maharashtra bus accident that killed 26

A tragic incident came to light on Saturday morning. As many as 26 people were killed in Maharashtra's Buldhana district when a bus travelling Nagpur to Pune caught fire after an accident on the Samruddhi Mahamarg Expressway.

One of the survivors shared an account of the ill-fated bus accident and said he and a few others managed to come out of the burning vehicle by breaking its rear window. "A tyre of the bus burst and the vehicle caught fire immediately. The blaze spread in no time," the survivor said, as per news agency PTI.

He stated that he along with the passenger seated next to him managed to escape by breaking the rear window. The survivor said that after the accident, teams of police and fire brigade reached the site quickly.

Meanwhile, a local resident added that while four to five passengers managed to escape by breaking one window of the bus, not everyone could do it. The people who could come out of the bus later told us that they sought help from other vehicles on the highway, but nobody stopped, he added.

"People inside were trying to break the windows. We saw people getting burnt alive...The fire was so intense that we could not do anything. We were in tears...," the resident said, according to the news agency.

Had the vehicles passing by the highway stopped for help, more lives could have been saved, he added.

At around 1:30 am, a private passenger bus going from Nagpur to Pune rammed into a road divider on the Samruddhi Expressway near Sindkhedraja in Buldhana. Of the 33 passengers in the bus, 26 were charred to death, police said.

Seven survivors of the bus tragedy have been rushed to a nearby hospital and are safe, police said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives due to the bus accident in Buldhana, Maharashtra. The Prime Minister announced ex-gratia from Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured.

"Deeply saddened by the devastating bus mishap in Buldhana, Maharashtra. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who lost their lives. May the injured recover soon. The local administration is providing all possible assistance to the affected," he tweeted.