24 charred to death in UP after bus-truck collision

Two dozen people were charred to death and 14 others injured, some seriously, after UP Roadways bus caught fire following a collision with a truck on the Delhi-Lucknow National Highway in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district, about 250 kms from here.
 
The mishap occurred late on Sunday night when the bus was on way to Gonda from Delhi, police sources here said on Monday. Police sources quoting eyewitnesses said that the bus was on the wrong side of the road.
 
The fire was said to be caused owing to an explosion in the diesel tank of the bus following the collision, sources said adding that it spread so quickly that the passengers, many of whom were asleep as it was around midnight, did not get time to come out.
 
Eye witnesses said that the rear gate of the bus was dysfunctional  as a result of which the passengers found themselves trapped in the bus after it caught fire. The bodies of the dead were charred beyond recognition, sources said adding that many of the dead were yet to be identified. UP government has announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of the kin of the deceased and Rs 50 thousand to the seriously injured.