Nine killed in bus fire on Yamuna Expressway

A passenger bus caught fire near Jewar on the Yamuna Expressway late Wednesday, September 23, killing nine people, authorities confirmed. The blaze occurred near the expressway’s 33-kilometre marker in Gautam Buddh Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh. The cause remains under investigation. The fire broke out in the Jewar police station area as the bus was travelling from Delhi. Accounts differ on its destination: one report said it was headed to Bihar, while another said it was travelling to Mahua in Jhansi district. The available information does not resolve that discrepancy. Passengers described waking to warnings or banging on the bus door as smoke spread through the vehicle. Survivors said people scrambled to escape in crowded conditions, with thick smoke making it difficult to see and move. One passenger said he managed to get off after being alerted to the fire; another described being pushed through the crowd and helped out by someone else. Police confirmed the death toll. One report said the victims included a woman, while another said eight men and one woman died.