Archive · 25 Aug 2026
Passenger Bus Fire Injures Several Near Sardarpur; Riders Escape
A bus traveling from Surat to Kanpur caught fire during the night.
Smoke quickly filled the bus and frightened the passengers.
Many people escaped through the doors and windows.
Some passengers were hurt, but the injuries were described as minor.
One mother pushed her eight-year-old son through a window before escaping herself.
The fire destroyed the bus and many passengers’ belongings.
The local fire truck could not help because it had been broken for two months.
Firefighters from nearby towns eventually put out the fire, and police arranged other buses for the travelers.
A Surat-to-Kanpur passenger bus caught fire near Sardarpur at 1:10 am Monday.
Passengers escaped through doors and broken windows as smoke filled the bus.
Several passengers suffered minor injuries, while luggage and valuables were destroyed.
Passengers alleged the bus had stopped for nearly four hours for repairs near Dahod.
Sardarpur’s fire tender was unavailable, so brigades from Rajgarh and Dhar extinguished the blaze.
- Who
- Passengers traveling from Surat and other parts of Gujarat to Kanpur; Sardarpur police and firefighters responded.
- What
- A passenger bus caught fire, injuring several people and destroying luggage and valuables.
- When
- At about 1:10 am on Monday.
- Where
- Near the Bhopawar four-lane junction in Sardarpur, Madhya Pradesh.
- Why
- Smoke was noticed inside the bus; passengers had alleged that the vehicle had undergone repair work before continuing its journey.
Passenger concerns
Official response
Bus maintenance and driver conduct
Passenger concerns
Passengers alleged that the bus had remained at a hotel near Dahod for nearly four hours for repairs, and they reported that the driver left after stopping the bus.
Official response
The reports do not provide a response from the bus operator or driver, and they do not establish the cause of the fire.
Emergency firefighting capacity
Passenger concerns
The unavailable Sardarpur fire tender delayed the town’s direct response to a blaze about one kilometre away, according to the report.
Official response
Sardarpur police called fire brigades from Rajgarh and Dhar, which reached the scene and brought the fire under control.
- Route
- Surat, Gujarat, to Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
- Time
- Approximately 1:10 am on Monday
- Escape
- Passengers exited through doors and broken windows
- Injuries
- Several passengers sustained minor injuries
- Property damage
- The bus was almost completely gutted, and luggage and valuables were burned
- Fire response
- Fire brigades from Rajgarh and Dhar extinguished the blaze
- Local fire tender
- Sardarpur’s fire tender had been out of order for two months and was sent to Indore for repairs