Sleeper bus catches fire on Agra-Lucknow Expressway days after Kurnool tragedy; all passengers safe

Lucknow: Just days after the Andhra bus fire, a double-decker air-conditioned sleeper bus travelling from Delhi to Gonda caught fire near the Revri toll plaza on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway early Sunday morning, police said. Fortunately, all 39 passengers on board escaped unhurt.

According to officials, the incident occurred at around 4:45 a.m., roughly 500 metres before the toll plaza, when the 44-seater private bus suddenly caught fire. Police and fire brigade teams rushed to the scene after receiving an alert, and all passengers were safely evacuated before the flames engulfed the vehicle.

Police confirmed that no casualties or injuries were reported , adding that the blaze was brought under control within an hour.

Inspector Satish Rathore told The Daily Jagran that local tea vendors nearby alerted the driver, Jagat Singh, who immediately stopped the vehicle, ensured all passengers got off safely, and pushed the bus a short distance towards the toll plaza to prevent further danger. However, the absence of a fire extinguishing system near the toll plaza allowed the flames to spread rapidly.

Three fire engines were dispatched to the scene, and firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze after about 30 minutes of effort. Preliminary findings suggest the fire originated from one of the bus’s wheels, though the exact cause remains under investigation.

The charred bus was later removed from the expressway, and traffic movement returned to normal, officials said. The bus owner arranged an alternative vehicle so passengers could continue their journey to Gonda.

The incident comes amid growing concerns over safety lapses in private long-distance buses. In less than a month, two deadly bus fires elsewhere in India have claimed over 45 lives and injured dozens.

On October 24, 2025, a luxury sleeper coach travelling from Hyderabad to Bengaluru caught fire near Chinna Tekuru village in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district after colliding with a motorbike, killing 19 people. The vehicle, carrying 43 passengers, was completely destroyed in the blaze.

Earlier in October, another horrific blaze in Jaisalmer killed 26 passengers and killed several others, triggered by an electrocal short circuit in the vehicle’s air conditioning unit.

(With PTI inputs)