One dead, several injured as Odisha-bound bus catches fire in West Bengal

A woman from Odisha lost her life after the bus she was travelling from Kolkata to Odisha’s Paradip caught fire on Friday night near Madhapur in Kharagpur.

The deceased woman has been identified as Puspanjali Das from Nolia village in Kendrapara’s Ichhapur.

Several passengers reportedly sustained burn injuries in this mishap. All the injured were admitted to Kharagpur hospital late last night.

Out of the total 39 passengers in the bus, 31 were from Odisha, including 16  from Kendrapara, two from Paradip and seven from Jajpur. So far, 28 of the 31 Odia passengers have returned to Odisha.

As per reports, the husband of the deceased, Rajendra Das was working in Kolkata and they were returning home for Diwali when the ill-fated bus caught fire.

Speaking about the rescue operations, Balasore Collector Dattatraya Bhausahab Shinde said, “A doctor’s team and an ALS ambulance have been sent there. The ambulance will help bring injured passengers to FM Medical College and Hospital if needed. There are 36 passengers who have sustained injuries in the mishap; out of them, 25 are from Odisha. We are bringing them back to Odisha.”

According to sources, the bus left Babughat (Kolkata) and headed towards Odisha on NH 41 at around 7-7.30 pm. The bus was reportedly carrying firecrackers and candles. It caught fire mid-way near Madhapur under Kharagpur police limits between 9 pm and 10 pm.

The fire reportedly sparked from the driver’s cabin and soon engulfed the entire bus reducing it to ashes in a span of a few minutes. The driver and the helper of the ill-fated bus fled the spot immediately after the vehicle caught fire.