"Road construction not cause of accident on Samruddhi highway"

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday ruled out road construction on the Samruddhi-Mahamarg Expressway as the cause of the accident in Buldhana district in which 25 passengers of a private bus died after the vehicle caught fire.

Talking to reporters here, the deputy Chief Minister said that he will accompany Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to the accident site in Buldhana today and will meet with the injured in hospital.

"Road construction not the cause of bus accident on Samruddhi highway," Fadnavis said.

He said that the bodies of those who died in the mishap will be identified using DNA testing if required so that they can be handed over to their families.

A total of 25 people, including three children were killed while eight people sustained injuries after a bus which was on its way to Pune caught fire in Buldhana on the Samruddhi Mahamarg Expressway in the early hours today. The bus with 33 people on board had commenced its journey from Yavatmal.

The driver, who survived the accident and is undergoing treatment at a hospital told police that the tyre of the bus burst at around 1:35 am and hit a pole on the expressway which caused it to overturn. The police said that this caused damage to the diesel tank of the bus, which caught fire. However, the exact reason for the accident has not yet been ascertained, the police said.