Jaisalmer bus fire: Rajasthan govt suspends two DTO officers for alleged laxity, death count rises to 21
The bus caught fire near the Army War Memorial. The Army personnel reached the site quickly and joined the rescue operations. The door had to be pried open, while a few passengers managed to escape by breaking windows. Water from a passing tanker was also used to control the flame.
Another person succumbed at a hospital in Jodhpur on Wednesday a day after 20 people were burnt alive in a bus fire in Jaisalmer and another succumbed at a hospital in Jodhpur. Meanwhile, the Rajasthan government suspended two officers of the Chittorgarh District Transport Office for alleged laxity, officials said.
Taking action in the matter, the state government suspended Chunnilal along with Chittorgarh District Transport Officer Surendra Singh Gehlot for laxity, they said.
Bus had undergone several unauthorised modifications
According to the preliminary probe, the Jodhpur-bound private sleeper bus was registered in Chittorgarh on October 1 and had undergone several unauthorised modifications. Though it was an air-conditioned bus, it had been registered as non-AC, officials revealed.
Chittorgarh DTO's Assistant Administrative Officer Chunnilal, who inspected the vehicle, allegedly ignored violations during the fitness check. The state government has now suspended Chunnilal and District Transport Officer Surendra Singh Gehlot for dereliction of duty.
According to the officials, the primary probe also revealed that the bus had no emergency exit, no window hammers; but a narrow aisle that trapped passengers. Once the wiring caught fire, the automatic door-lock system activated, sealing off escape.
Several bodies were found piled on top of one another inside the bus.
Main reason for the high number of casualties
Earlier in the day, Jaisalmer Additional SP Kailash Dan said a jammed door in the bus was the main reason for the high number of casualties. The blaze caused the bus to get locked, preventing passengers from escaping.
"Most of the bodies were found in the aisle of the bus, which shows that people tried to escape but couldn't because the door was stuck," Additional SP Dan told PTI.
Death count rises to 21
Just 10 minutes after leaving Jaisalmer, a private sleeper bus caught fire on Tuesday, killing 19 passengers and injuring 16 others. One of the injured succumbed to severe burn injuries later that night, officials said.
An eight-year-old boy who was battling for his life at Jodhpur's MG Hospital died during treatment early Wednesday, raising the death toll to 21, while four others remain on ventilator support, a hospital official confirmed.
Authorities have collected DNA samples from the families of the deceased to help identify the charred bodies, officials said. Once identification is complete, the bodies will be handed over to the families, according to a hospital doctor.
Currently, 14 injured passengers are receiving treatment at the MG Hospital in Jodhpur, they added.
CM reached Jaisalmer last night
Meanwhile, Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal Sharma reached Jaisalmer last night by air and visited the accident site and spoke to officials while giving them necessary directions. He later visited Jodhpur and met the family members of the victim.
The bus caught fire near the Army War Memorial. The Army personnel reached the site quickly and joined the rescue operations. The door had to be pried open, while a few passengers managed to escape by breaking windows. Water from a passing tanker was also used to control the blaze.
An FIR against the bus owner and the driver was registered in Jaisalmer on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, an intense checking of private buses was carried out by RTO officials in Jaipur in the wake of the Jaisalmer incident. The RTO squads checked documents of the buses and action was taken on violation of norms, an official said. While the transport officials were busy conducting checking in Jaipur, smoke emanated from a moving low-floor bus on busy Tonk road.
Some passengers noticed the smoke and alerted the driver. By the time the bus was stopped, there was heavy smoke in the bus. However, the situation was brought under control. The police said that there was minor sparking in the bus which caused smoking.
(With PTI inputs)
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