Shiv Sena (UBT) Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut on Saturday expressed 'grief' over the accident on the Samruddhi-Mahamarg Expressway in Maharashtra's Buldhana in which 25 passengers of a private bus died after the vehicle caught fire and termed it "extremely disheartening".
"The accident that took place today on Samruddhi highway is extremely disheartening," he told ANI.
Lashing out at the Ekath Shinde-led government over the "frequent accidents" on this road, Raut said, "Several accidents are taking place on this road but the government is not paying heed to it"
The accident took place at around 1:30 am on Saturday on the Samruddhi-Mahamarg Expressway in Maharashtra's Buldhana.
"The bus was travelling from Nagpur to Pune when it met with an accident at around 1:30 am. The driver said that the accident took place after a tyre burst, leading to flames in the bus. Later the diesel tank of the vehicle caught fire.
There are three children among those who died and the rest are adults. The exact reason for the accident has not yet been ascertained," Buldhana Superintendant of Police (SP) Sunil Kadasane told reporters.
According to police, a total of 33 people were travelling in the bus which was on its way to Pune. The bus owner, Virendra Darna, also said that the tyre burst caused the accident.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Ekath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis visited the accident site and met the injured at the Buldhana Civil Hospital.
Fadnavis ruled out road construction on the Samruddhi-Mahamarg Expressway as the cause of the accident.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of those who died in the bus accident and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah also expressed his grief over the accident and called it "heartbreaking".
