At least 25 dead after wedding party bus bursts into flames in India

By Sandi Sidhu, Hong Kong, July 1: At least 25 people have been killed after a bus carrying a wedding party burst into flames after crashing in India’s western state of Maharashtra on Saturday.

Baburao Mahamuni, Deputy Superintendent of Police in Buldhana, said the incident had taken place on the Samruddhi Mahamarg expressway, CNN’s Indian affiliate News 18 reported.

Mahamuni said the injured were being taken to Buldhana Civil Hospital.

Police believe the bus crashed due to rain at around 2 a.m. local time on Saturday as it was going from Yavatmal to Pune and its diesel tank then caught fire.

News 18 translated a tweet from Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde in which he expressed condolences and offered compensation to the relatives of the deceased.

“Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has expressed deep grief over the horrific accident of a private bus on the Samruddhi highway near Sindkhedaraja in the Buldhana district,” the tweet read.

It said the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund would provide around $6,000 to the families of each person killed “in this unfortunate incident”.

CNN