15 killed, 57 hurt in Maharashtra accident

The accident took place around 3.30 a.m. on the Mehkar-Sultanpur stretch of the Aurangabad-Nagpur highway, around 300 km from here, when most passengers were sleeping.

"The vehicles caught fire after the collision and at least 12 passengers were burnt in their seats," Mehkar Police Station head B.I. Suryawanshi told IANS.

The injured, of whom 20 are reported to be serious, have been rushed to the Mehkar civil hospital.

“The buses belonged to Royal Travels and Soni Travels. One of them was coming from Nagpur and going to Pune while the other was going to Nagpur," Suryawanshi said.

Locals rushed to assist and helped shift the injured to hospital. The identity of the victims is being ascertained.