One dead, 13 injured after bus rams into divider and catches fire in Bihar

Purnea: At least one woman died and 13 people were injured after the bus they were traveling in rammed into a divider and caught fire near Purnia bus stand in Bihar on Monday.

"The incident took place at around 3:15 am on Monday. The bus was travelling from Muzaffarpur when it rammed into a divider and caught fire near Purnia bus stand. We are assuming that the driver might have fallen asleep," Vishal Sharma, Superintendent of Police (SP), Purnia told ANI.

"A woman's body has been recovered from the bus. We have been told that the situation of injured people is a bit serious and they have been referred to a nearby hospital. Remaining passengers were provided with the first aid," he added.

The police are guessing that around 45-50 passengers were travelling in the bus.

According to Sharma, the police is currently ascertaining to the total number of causalities.

"Three persons with serious injuries have been admitted to Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in Bhagalpur," the SP said.

The driver and helper of the bus were safe and efforts were on to trace them, Sharma said.

"We have been able to contact the owner of the private bus," the SP said.