Refernce to India Today. At least 21 of the passengers were killed and 15 others were seriously injured after the bus that was carrying passengers on the Jodhpur to Jaisalmer route suddenly burst into fire on Tuesday afternoon.

The bus, which had 57 passengers, had left Jaisalmer at around 3 pm and was on its way along the Jaisalmer-Jodhpur highway when smoke was seen coming out at the back.

Although the driver parked the bus on the roadside, the flames took hold of the vehicle in minutes and the occupants were trapped in the bus even as locals came to offer assistance.

Rescue and Medical Assistance.

Police and fire tenders were on the scene within minutes and the emergency rescue operations started immediately to evacuate the passengers and contain the fire spreading well.

Wounded passengers were initially taken to the Jawahar Hospital in Jaisalmer and 16 in a very critical condition were transferred to a hospital in Jodhpur to receive advanced treatment.

It is unfortunate that one of the passengers who were transferred to Jodhur hospital died due to injuries, which has increased the death toll to 21, as medical staff are still attending to the critically injured.

Possible Cause of the Fire

According to the police officials, initial investigation indicates that it could be a short circuit, which caused the fire, though additional examination is being carried out to see whether there are any mechanical or technical failures.

The district administration has assured to go on and execute a comprehensive study and make sure that all safety standards and rules that pertain to passenger bus are strictly adhered to in future.

Compensation is announced by PM Modi.

Prime minister Narendra Modi was extremely saddened by the tragic incident and posted messages of condolence on the families of the victims late on Tuesday night through social media.

He declared that he would give out financial support to the families of deceased passengers and the families of individuals who were injured during the fire: 2 lakh at the time of death and 50,000 on injury caused by the fire.

Visit of the Chief Minister to the Accident Site.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma went to visit the site of the accident in Jaisalmer and paid personal visit to the site and offered his gratitude to the army forces and locals who assisted in the rescue mission.

He came along with Pokaran MLA Pratap Puri, MLA Sangh Singh Bhati and representatives of the district administration and a planned campaign rally in Patna was canceled because of the severity of the incident.

Political Leaders Response.

Former Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, Governor Haribhau Bagade and the state president of the BJP, Madan Rathore all sorrowfully and condoled the bereaved families of the victims.

President Droupadi Murmu referred to the incident as most heartbreaking and prayed that the injured would be fully recovered soon and vice president CP Radhakrishnan also mourned over the tragic loss.

Response of District Administration.

The administration of Jaisalmer district has initiated instant relief and rescue efforts and the District Collector Pratap Singh has instructed the officials to guarantee prompt medical care to injured passengers.

The establishment of helpline numbers was made so that the families of their loved ones could be found and the authorities promise to do everything they could to help the families during this hard period.

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