1 dies, 14 hurt as bus catches fire in Purnia

Patna: One person was killed and 14 others suffered burn injuries when a private bus carrying them caught fire after crashing into a road divider near a bus stand in Purnia around 3.15am on Monday.
A woman from Begusarai, identified as Babita Devi, was charred to death while others were rescued by the local residents who smashed the windscreen of the vehicle to help passengers climb out of the burning vehicle.The bus was on its way to Siliguri from Muzaffarpur. The driver and the cleaner of the bus, however, escaped after abandoning the vehicle.
Purnia DM Pradeep Kumar Jha and SP Vishal Sharma rushed to the spot. Kumar told reporters that the charred body of a woman was recovered from the bus. The deceased’s identity was ascertained by her relative Reena Devi, who was also travelling in the same vehicle.
Another victim, Shweta Devi, who was travelling with her two minor children Yash and Yashika, said the mishap occurred when most passengers were sleeping. She claimed that over 40 passengers were in the bus when the incident took place. She and her two children survived because of timely intervention of co-passengers and some local residents.
The SP said that a case of rash driving has been lodged against the driver of the bus. “Efforts are on to trace the driver and the cleaner of the bus,” he said.