Maharashtra CM Shinde, Dy CM Fadnavis reach Buldhana bus accident site

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have reached the Buldhana bus accident site at Samruddhi Mahamarg expressway in Maharashtra.

The ministers are currently inspecting the accident site. They will meet with the injured in the hospital.

The accident, in which 25 people have lost their lives, took place at around 1:30 am on Saturday on the Samruddhi-Mahamarg Expressway in Maharashtra's Buldhana.

"The bus driver and conductor have been taken into custody by police," said Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan earlier today.

"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.

Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday ruled out road construction on the Samruddhi-Mahamarg Expressway as the cause of the accident.