Emergency exit jammed, 4 employees charred to death in bus

Four employees of a graphics designing firm were charred to death and six others injured as a company minibus caught fire near Pune city on Wednesday morning, the police said.

The emergency exit door at the rear side of the bus could not be opened, leading to casualties, said an official.

The incident took place in Hinjewadi area in the Pimpri Chinchwad municipal limits around 7.45 am, he said.

The bus was ferrying 14 employees of Vyoma Graphics from Warje to Hinjewadi.

The deceased were identified as Shankar Shinde (63), Rajan Chavan (42), Gurudas Lokare (45) and Subhash Bhosale (44), residents of Kothrud, Warje and Wadgaon areas of Pune.

They worked as a supervisor, printing machine operator, courier person and paper cutting operator, respectively, the police said.

When the vehicle was near Dassault Systems, a fire broke out near the driver's feet. Driver Janardan Hambardikar brought the bus to a halt as the flames spread, said Kanhaiya Thorat, senior inspector of Hinjewadi police station.

The driver and some of the employees got down immediately, while the four deceased who were in the rear of the bus tried to escape through the emergency exit near them.

"Preliminary probe suggests that they failed to get out in time as the exit door did not open. All four were charred to death. Six others sustained burn injuries," the official told PTI.

Pradip Raut, a survivor, said fire spread within a few seconds. "I managed to jump off through a window, and moments later the bus was engulfed in flames," he said.

Deputy commissioner of police Vishal Gaikwad said a short circuit could have triggered the fire, though experts from the Regional Transport Office will ascertain the exact cause. They will also probe why the emergency exit door malfunctioned, he added.

The minibus was owned by Vyoma Graphics, said the police.

Balasaheb Babar, maternal uncle of deceased Rajan Chavan, told PTI that he had been working as an offset printing machine operator at the company for two years.

"He was the sole breadwinner of his family. He has two sons, aged between 8 and 12, and wife. His father has retired from service," said Babar.

The same vehicle picked up Chavan and other employees every day, he said.