Motihari/Patna: At least eight passengers of a Delhi-bound air-conditioned private bus had a miraculous escape after it burst into flames and fell into a ditch near Belwa Chowk on the national highway-28 in East Champaran district around 3.30pm on Thursday.
Eight of the survivors have been admitted to Motihari Sadar hospital. Sources said 13-15 passengers were on board. Inspector-general (Tirhut zone) Sunil Kumar, who rushed to the site, said no human remains were found inside the charred bus. "According to records, 13 people had booked their seats from Muzaffarpur. Eight people were rescued. So far no casualties have been reported," East Champaran district magistrate Raman Kumar said.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar, who was at a function at Gyan Bhwan when the news broke, observed two minutes' silence for those "killed" and directed officials to provide treatment to the injured.
But Motihari sadar sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Murali Manohar Manjhi said: "We have not recovered a single limb or body parts, which underlines the fact that no casualties had taken place."
The bus left Bairia bus stand in Muzaffarpur around 2pm. The accident took place when the driver applied brakes to dodge a motorcycle from the opposite side near a bridge between Belwa and Bangra Chowk, 25km southwest of Motihari. "The bus skidded off the road, overturned and burst into flames," sources quoted an eye-witnesses. The bus was plying at over 80 kmph.
Saroj Kumar, the booking clerk of Sahil Raj Daily Bus Service, told police that 13 passengers had boarded the bus. He was detained for quizzing.
IG Sunil Kumar said a forensic team has been pressed into service to collect evidence from the accident site. The police have so far been able to trace 11 passengers who were travelling by the bus. "Efforts are on to locate those who are missing," he told The Telegraph over phone.
Six of the survivors have been identified as Sanjeev Kumar (35), Samastipur, Shruti Kumari (25), Darbhanga, Chintu Kumar (30), Samastipur, Rinku Kumari (25), Begusarai, Amit Kumar (30), Begusarai, Rajdev Yadav (40), Muzaffarpur.
Sanjeev Kumar, a passenger rescued by the residents, told journalists there were 13 passengers on board when the bus left around 2pm.
"I could see only seven passengers being rescued. The fire had spread to half of the bus when I came out," said Sanjeev, who works for a private bank in New Delhi. "A couple with a baby were sitting beside me. While, the woman and her baby escaped, nothing is known about her husband yet," he said.
"Except for help from residents, no help, like ambulance service, was available for hours. Locals took me to a nearby dhaba and provided me help."
At the time of filing this report, top district administration officials were camping at the accident site, around 175km northwest of Patna.
Thursday's accident comes over a month after 10 persons travelling in a private bus overturned into a road side ditch near Runnisaidpur on Muzaffarpur-Sitamarhi road in Sitamahri district.
