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4 killed as bus catches fire

BHUBANESWAR: Four people were killed and 35 injured when a bus of the Madhya Pradesh Road Transport Corporation carrying pilgrims caught fire here on Monday morning.

The four were identified as Ratan Lal, Viran Singh, Kailash Chandra and Ladu Bai. About 67 pilgrims from Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh were returning from Puri after having a darshan of Lord Jagannath in the morning.

Though the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, eyewitnesses said fire emanated from the engine section and engulfed the bus within minutes.

Many passengers managed to come out of the bus with the help of locals, but 10 people sustained severe injuries. Two persons died on the spot.

Seven critically injured were taken to the SCB Medical College Hospital at Cuttack and two died of their injuries there.

Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his ministerial colleagues visited the injured in the hospital.

In the afternoon, Madhya Pradesh Public Relations Minister Laxmikant Sharma came here by a special flight and visited the injured persons at the hospital.

He announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 50,000 for each of the deceased and Rs. 10,000 for each of the injured.

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