9 Dead and 13 Injured after Bus Carrying Pilgrims Catches Fire in Haryana’s Nuh

At least nine people were killed, and thirteen others were injured after a devastating bus fire erupted in Haryana’s Kundali-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway during the wee hours of Saturday morning. As per reports, the bus was carrying around 60 pilgrims from Chandigarh and Punjab who were enroute to Chandigarh, having spent the past week in Mathura and Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh.

According to the police, the bus caught fire near the Dhulawat toll plaza around 2:30am. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. 9 people that include 6 men and 3 women succumbed to their injuries, and 13 are currently undergoing treatment. "All the wounded individuals are currently in stable condition,” said Inspector Jitendra Kumar.

After the bus came to a halt, nearby residents took immediate action by alerting the authorities and attempting to extinguish the flames and rescue those aboard. Following the arrival of the fire brigade, the flames were doused and those injured were promptly rushed to Nalhar Medical College.

However, allegations have surfaced regarding the delayed response of fire officials, with locals claiming that help arrived three hours after the bus had been engulfed in flames. According to witnesses, community members took matters into their own hands, breaking windows and pulling passengers to safety before emergency services arrived.