Jaisalmer Bus Fire Horror – Tuesday! The Jaisalmer-Jodhpur highway cuts through the scorching desert of Rajasthan. At around 3:30 in the afternoon, a KK Travels AC Sleeper Bus was hurtling towards Jodhpur. Little did anyone know that within minutes, the bus would become a burning coffin, taking lives.
According to passengers, smoke suddenly began to rise from the rear of the bus, and in a flash, flames engulfed the entire AC cabin. Instantly, screams and cries erupted. People jumped out of windows to save their lives and rolled on the road. The scene was so horrific that many people’s clothes burned onto their bodies.
The horror of the accident can be gauged from the fact that although the fire brigade extinguished the fire, the body of the bus remained so hot for hours that no one was able to approach it.
Jaisalmer Collector Pratap Singh personally arrived at the scene to assess the situation. He sadly stated, “The bus has been completely reduced to ashes. Even after four hours, the metal frame is still blazing. The bodies are trapped inside the seats, and due to the extreme heat, we are unable to remove them. Now, only ashes and charred bodies remain in the bus.”
Assistant Fire Officer Krishnapal Singh Rathore initially estimated 10 to 12 deaths, but later reports and eyewitness accounts suggest the death toll could be 15 to 20. Sixteen passengers, including two children and four women, were severely burnt in the accident.
The administration acted swiftly and immediately established a ‘green corridor’ on Highway 125 to transport the injured to Jodhpur. Eight ambulances, sirens blaring, departed from Jaisalmer’s Jawahar Hospital for Jodhpur carrying the injured.
Police have detained Laxman, an agent for Swagat Travels. Initial investigations have revealed that tickets for many passengers on the bus were issued on the spot. This means there was no record of the actual number of passengers! Police are currently trying to determine the total number of passengers on board. A short circuit is suspected to be the cause of the fire.
At the scene of the accident, black spots can still be seen on the roads, and the smell of burnt rubber and flesh can be felt in the air. An eyewitness remarked heartbreakingly, “We had only seen such scenes in movies, but today it became reality. The sound of screams and cries still echoes in our ears.”
