Ten charred to death in bus-truck collision in UP

At least ten people were charred to death after the bus in which they were traveling caught fire following a head-on collision with a truck in Uttar Pradesh's Kannauj district, about 150 kilometers from here, police here said on Saturday.

Although the police said that eight bodies and two skeletons had so far been recovered from the charred bus, sources said that the toll could go up as some passengers were said to be missing.

The mishap occurred near Chibramau area in the district late on Friday night, when the ill-fated bus was on way to Jaipur in Rajasthan from Farrukhabad town in UP.

Police said that the fire in the bus was caused by the explosion in the diesel tank of the truck. ''The bus turned into a ball of fire after the collision.....there were three explosions...the fire made it nearly impossible for us to rescue the trapped passengers,'' said an eye witness.

Eyewitnesses said that fire tenders reached the spot around two hours after the collision. ''By then the bus was completely charred,'' said one of them.

Police officials said that around 45 people were on board the bus. ''Twenty-seven passengers have been admitted to the hospitals at Kannauj and Kanpur.....two passengers escaped without injury....the rest are missing.....we are trying to find out about them'', said a senior police official in Kannauj.

Sources said that the police had decided to conduct DNA tests to identify the bodies as they were charred beyond recognition.

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs. 2 lakh each to the next of the kin of the deceased and rs. 50 thousand each to the injured.

A probe has been ordered into the mishap, sources said adding that it was being ascertained if the bus had the necessary permit.