'Die then, we won’t stop': Driver of bus that caught fire ignored passengers' pleas to stop

Image Credit: PTI (Nine passengers were killed after the bus, travelling from Delhi to Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh, caught fire late Wednesday night.)

NOIDA: Nine passengers were killed after a bus travelling from Delhi to Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh caught fire on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida late Wednesday night, with an FIR alleging that the driver and conductor ignored repeated warnings from passengers about a burning smell and refused to stop the vehicle.Passengers repeatedly asked the driver to pull over after noticing the smell, but the driver and conductor allegedly told them, "If you want to die, then die; we won't stop the bus," according to the FIR registered on the complaint of a passenger.The FIR was registered at Jewar police station on the complaint of Suneel Kumar, a resident of Hamirpur district. Kumar said he boarded the Raj Kalpana Travels bus from Delhi's Kashmere Gate around 9pm on Wednesday.About 30-35 passengers were on board, according to his complaint.

Passengers noticed burning smell

Kumar said the bus reached the 33-km mark on the Yamuna Expressway at around 11.30pm when passengers noticed a burning smell coming from the driver's cabin.The driver allegedly dismissed it as a common smell in the bus and did not stop to check the vehicle, the complaint said.Kumar further alleged that the driver and conductor continued smoking bidis and cigarettes in the cabin before flames suddenly erupted near the driver's seat.

Passengers raised an alarm and again asked the driver to stop, but the two allegedly refused, according to the complaint.By the time the bus stopped, the fire had spread through the vehicle and smoke had filled the passenger compartment, Kumar said. He and several other passengers managed to jump out of the bus, while some passengers remained trapped inside.Several passengers suffered burns and were taken to Kailash Hospital in Jewar for treatment.

Kumar said he was later informed at the hospital that nine people had been declared dead.Police said the nine passengers died from burns and suffocation.

Driver, conductor detained

The complaint accused the driver and conductor of "deliberate, gross negligence, rashness and reckless disregard" for passenger safety.It also alleged that passengers' bags, luggage and mobile phones were destroyed in the fire, including belongings kept in the luggage compartment and on the roof of the bus.Police said the driver and conductor have been detained and that further investigation is underway.(With inputs from PTI)