Agra-bound sleeper bus erupts in flames on Noida expressway, horror caught on camera

A sleeper bus travelling from Noida towards Agra caught fire on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway in Greater Noida. The entire bus was engulfed in flames, but all passengers were evacuated. Several fire tenders were deployed to douse the fire.

In Short

• Fire caused by short circuit, driver and conductor detained by police
• Driver ignored passengers' warnings about burning smell, continued smoking in cabin
• People helped rescue trapped passengers using fire extinguisher to break window

A sleeper bus travelling from Noida towards Agra caught fire on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway in Greater Noida, with the entire bus engulfed in flames.

All passengers were evacuated from the bus after the fire broke out. Several fire tenders were deployed to douse the flames.

In the video, the bus can be seen on fire by the expressway, with a billow of smoke rising as passengers walk past. Firefighters are then seen trying to douse the flames as onlookers watch.

The incident took place under the Knowledge Park police station area.

This comes weeks after a sleeper bus carrying about 30 to 35 passengers caught fire on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida. While passengers were evacuated in time in today's incident, several were not as lucky a week earlier, when at least nine people, including a woman, died.

In that incident, the blaze spread through the bus within minutes, forcing passengers to try to escape through thick smoke, while some jumped out of the moving vehicle to save themselves.

The bus was travelling from Delhi to Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh when the fire broke out at about 11.30 pm. A fire department team reached the spot after receiving information and later brought the fire under control. ADM Ajit Singh said the fire was caused by a short circuit. Police subsequently detained the bus driver, Pawan, and conductor, Yogesh, in connection with the incident. The owner of the bus is from Madhya Pradesh.

According to the FIR, the bus, bearing registration number BR32PA8647, was near kilometre 33 on the Noida-Agra route at around 11.30 pm when passengers noticed a burning smell coming from the driver's cabin. In a complaint filed by Sunil Kumar, it was alleged that some passengers informed the driver and conductor about the smell, but the driver dismissed their concerns, saying such a burning smell was common on the bus.

The FIR further alleges that the driver did not stop the bus immediately to check the problem and that he and the conductor continued smoking bidis and cigarettes in the cabin. Shortly afterwards, flames were seen erupting near the driver's seat.

Passengers then began shouting and asking the driver to stop the bus. The FIR alleges that the driver and conductor initially refused to stop despite repeated requests and threatened the passengers. By then, the fire had spread rapidly through the vehicle and thick smoke had filled the passenger area.

After the fire broke out, the driver and conductor fled the spot, according to the FIR. People at the scene tried to help passengers escape from the burning bus. An attempt was made to use a fire extinguisher to put out the flames, but it did not work. As voices could still be heard from inside, people used the extinguisher to break a windowpane in an effort to rescue those trapped.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed distress over the loss of lives in the bus fire in Greater Noida and conveyed condolences to the families of those who died. He also announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased person, while the injured would receive Rs 50,000 each.

The incident left nine people dead, prompted police action against the driver and conductor, and brought focus on the sequence of events described in the FIR.

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Inputs from Arun Tyagi