1 dead, 51 escape as bus from Maha Kumbh to Rajasthan goes up in flames on Agra-Lucknow expressway

AGRA: One person died and 51 had a close shave when a sleeper bus with 52 pilgrims returning home to Rajasthan from Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj caught fire on the Agra-Lucknow expressway under Mursena limits in Firozabad district late on Friday, police said. The victim was asleep when the incident took place.

The deceased was identified as Pawan Sharma, in his early 30s. "The body will be sent for postmortem. The victim's family has arrived," police said. The remaining pilgrims — all from Nagaur in Rajasthan — managed to jump out of windows as the vehicle was quickly engulfed in flames, locals said, adding that the driver stopped the bus after some passengers "noticed a strange smell in the front cabin".
SP (city) Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Saturday: "There were 52 pilgrims on board. The fire spread within minutes. It happened at milestone 41/200 on the expressway. The reason behind the fire is being probed."
Dilip Kumar, one of the pilgrims on the bus, said, "The bus was travelling on the expressway when some of us noticed a strange smell. The driver stopped the vehicle, and went to check. Shortly afterwards, a fire broke out from the front cabin. It was late at night and people were mostly asleep. There was panic, and people started screaming for help and breaking the windows."
Agra: One person died and 51 had a close shave when a sleeper bus with 52 pilgrims returning home to Rajasthan from Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj caught fire on the Agra-Lucknow expressway under Mursena limits in Firozabad district late on Friday, police said. The victim was asleep when the incident took place.
The deceased was identified as Pawan Sharma, in his early 30s. "The body will be sent for postmortem. The victim's family has arrived," police said. The remaining pilgrims — all from Nagaur in Rajasthan — managed to jump out of windows as the vehicle was quickly engulfed in flames, locals said, adding that the driver stopped the bus after some passengers "noticed a strange smell in the front cabin".
SP (city) Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Saturday: "There were 52 pilgrims on board. The fire spread within minutes. It happened at milestone 41/200 on the expressway. The reason behind the fire is being probed."
Dilip Kumar, one of the pilgrims on the bus, said, "The bus was travelling on the expressway when some of us noticed a strange smell. The driver stopped the vehicle, and went to check. Shortly afterwards, a fire broke out from the front cabin. It was late at night and people were mostly asleep. There was panic, and people started screaming for help and breaking the windows."