“I could have saved more passengers if the fire had not engulfed the whole bus,” lamented Gangavati-based Rajashekar Mudenur who was the first person to rush to the accident spot to rescue the passengers trapped in the fire-caught bus.
He said he was returning to his room after drinking tea at the nearest tea stall when the mishap took place. He first ran near the goods vehicle in which the driver was writing in pain as his two legs were cut.
He told him to be as he is and rushed near the bus and saved three people including a lady and two men from the rear side. By the time he could save others, fire suddenly spread to the whole bus forcing him to stay away, explained Rajashekhar.
Nirmala Mane, a tea stall owner, said she was brushing her teeth outside her stall when the accident took place. She immediately rushed to the spot to rescue passengers but she was able to rescue three-four passengers only. Others were screaming for help and those who were rescued were crying continuously as they saw their relatives burning alive in front of them. The police and fire tender personnel arrived about 40 minutes after the mishap. Everything was over by the time they arrived, she explained.
“It hurt a lot. I had decided not to open the tea stall but I had to open it as the people arriving at the spot require water and tea,” Nirmala said.
Girl survived
While father Arjun, mother Saraladevi and brother Vivan were burnt alive in the mishap, Pranati, the daughter of the deceased couple was rescued by Kamalapur-based Jeevan while the fire was spreading to the whole bus. Jeevan said he saved the girl but could not rescue her parents and brother. Upset, he went back home with a heavy heart, he said.
Half burnt books, belongings of the passengers and currency notes were also recovered from the accident spot while extricating the bodies. The relatives of the deceased who rushed to the spot were seen showing the bodies to their near and dear ones to identify them as they were charred beyond recognition.