Amid burning smell, Noida bus driver smoked bidis in cabin, told passengers he won't stop: 'Die if…'

The driver of the bus that crashed and resulted in the death of nine passengers on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida allegedly refused to stop the bus even after a burning smell, telling the occupants, “If you want to die, then die”.

Nine passengers were killed after a bus travelling from Delhi to Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh caught fire late Wednesday night on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida. The police said the fire on the bus bearing a Bihar registration broke out around 11 pm.

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The driver and conductor of the bus reportedly ignored a burning smell and refused to stop the vehicle despite repeated warnings from passengers, news agency PTI reported, citing an FIR lodged based on a passenger's complaint.

Passengers cautioned the driver and asked him to stop the bus, but the driver and conductor allegedly refused.

"If you want to die, then die; we won't stop the bus," they said, according to the FIR.

According to the police, the bus was plying with 35 passengers when the incident took place in Dayanatpur village in Jewar, on the Yamuna Expressway. The bus driver and conductor managed to flee the spot, HT earlier reported.

In a statement, the Greater Noida police said the fire erupted after a blast in the bus' AC. "The fire broke out after a spark or blast in the bus’s AC caused the engine lubricating oil to catch fire, allowing the flames to spread rapidly," it said.

“A few passengers said that as the bus reached the Yamuna Expressway, they experienced a small burning-smell and asked the driver to stop,” the earlier report quoted as saying Jewar Station House Officer (SHO) Ajay Kumar Singh.

“By the time the driver stopped the vehicle, the fire broke out and quickly engulfed the vehicle. There were 35 passengers onboard. Nine people, including a woman, failed to escape,” he added.

Police also said the driver and conductor had managed to escape by the time a team reached the spot. “Efforts are on to nab them,” the SHO said.