Jaisalmer Additional Superintendent of Police Kailash Dan said that due to the fire, the gate of the bus got closed, due to which the passengers could not get out.
जैसलमेर बस हादसे में बड़ा खुलासा, बच जाती लोगों की जान!
The Jaisalmer bus accident claimed the lives of most passengers due to a jammed door. Police said on Wednesday that the door of the AC sleeper bus became jammed after the fire broke out, preventing passengers from getting out. Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma personally reviewed the rescue and medical assistance and described the incident as “extremely tragic.”
It is noteworthy that a private bus bound for Jodhpur caught fire on Tuesday afternoon, barely ten minutes after leaving Jaisalmer. The bus was engulfed in flames, burning 20 passengers alive and seriously injuring 15 others.
Jaisalmer’s Additional Superintendent of Police Kailash Dan said that the fire had caused the bus gate to close, preventing passengers from getting out. He told PTI, “Most of the bodies were found in the gallery of the bus, which suggests that people tried to escape, but the door was jammed and they were unable to get out and met their untimely demise.”
The bus caught fire near the Army War Memorial. Army personnel present at the scene immediately arrived and joined the rescue operation. Locals and passersby also came forward to help. A passing tanker also attempted to extinguish the fire on the bus.
The bus door had to be forcibly broken. After the fire broke out, some passengers jumped out by breaking the window and saved their lives. Jaisalmer District Superintendent of Police Abhishek Shivhare said that 19 charred bodies were recovered from the bus and 16 seriously injured were taken to a hospital in Jodhpur. One of them died on the way.
He said, “The bodies have been sent to Jodhpur for DNA sampling and identification. They will be handed over to the families after the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) confirms the match.” Police officials said that the total number of people on the bus is being confirmed.
Additional Superintendent of Police Kailash Dan said, “Twenty people have died and 15 are undergoing treatment. No one has been reported missing yet. We are confirming the number of people. CCTV footage from the bus’s departure point and along the route has been collected and is being examined.”
He said FSL teams have been inspecting the scene since last night. He added, “Initial indications point to a short circuit in the bus, although other possibilities, such as firecrackers, are also being investigated.”
Rescue officials said the bus that crashed instantly turned into a “ball of fire,” leaving the passengers on board with little time to escape. The bus was new, recently registered, and was on its fourth trip. It had left Jaisalmer at around 3 p.m. and was supposed to pick up more passengers along the way.
A police officer, citing eyewitnesses, said a loud explosion was heard from the rear of the bus, possibly from the AC compressor. The fire was fueled by diesel, AC gas, and fiber-based interior materials.
Health Minister Gajendra Singh Khinvsar said, “The bus had only one door, which was jammed. Most passengers were unable to get out. The army retrieved as many bodies as possible. Some were so burned that they are difficult to identify.”
Preliminary investigations revealed that the bus had no emergency exit. There was no hammer to break the window panes in case of an emergency, and the passengers were trapped in a narrow corridor. As soon as the wires caught fire, the automatic door-lock system activated, blocking the exit.
According to reports, several bodies were found piled on top of each other inside the bus. The injured included two children and four women, some with up to 70 percent burns. All were initially taken to the government hospital in Jaisalmer and then referred to Jodhpur.
Jaisalmer District Collector Pratap Singh Nathawat said rescue operations were launched immediately upon receiving information about the accident. He added, “All 19 bodies have been sent to Jodhpur for DNA-based identification.”
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