Relatives face ordeal at Sector 94 as nine die in Yamuna Expressway bus blaze
Noida authorities on Friday conducted post-mortems at the Sector 94 facility after a sleeper bus travelling from Delhi to Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh caught fire late on Wednesday night on the Yamuna Expressway. The blaze claimed the lives of nine passengers, officials said, and relatives found it difficult to identify several charred bodies owing to extensive burns.
The bus, which had departed from Kashmere Gate in Delhi, caught fire at about 11.20pm on Wednesday near the 33-km milestone of the expressway, according to police records made available to reporters. Victims were brought to the Sector 94 post-mortem house in Noida where family members waited anxiously while medical and investigative formalities proceeded.
Families struggled to identify the bodies because of the extensive burns.
Police said they have so far identified six of the nine deceased. The identified victims include:
| Name | Age | Residence |
|---|---|---|
| Shruti Rawat | 31 | Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh |
| Saroj Gupta | 52 | Mughalpuria Bazar, Rath, Hamirpur |
| Mayank Gupta | 28 | Mughalpuria Bazar, Rath, Hamirpur |
| Devendra Sahay Bhardwaj | 60 | Chandra Nagar village, Hisar, Haryana |
| Har Sharan Gupta | 55 | Balaji Palace, Rajendra Nagar, Orai police station area, Jalaun district |
| Usha Devi | 65 | Main Road, Muskura, Hamirpur |
Several relatives spent hours at the mortuary. In one account provided to police, Sarvagya identified his father Devendra Sahay Bhardwaj, a retired university teacher from Hisar, who had been travelling with his wife to Mahoba to attend the last rites of a family member. Rekha Bhardwaj, his wife, survived the fire and was hospitalised. Siblings Shivam and Nancy were also present and, after protracted efforts, identified the bodies of their mother and brother, police said.
In another case, identification was possible because of a piece of jewellery: Ayushi, the granddaughter of one of the deceased, recognised the body after locating an anklet she said had been a gift from her son. That detail underlines the difficulty families faced when visual identification was hampered by burn injuries, officials noted.
- Emergency response: The fire broke out near the 33-km milestone on the Yamuna Expressway at around 11.20pm on Wednesday.
- Casualties: Nine passengers were killed; six have been identified so far.
- Detentions: Police have arrested two drivers and a conductor in connection with the incident, according to official statements.
Noida police investigators have taken custody of the three arrested persons — the two drivers and the conductor — and are conducting enquiries into the cause of the blaze and the chain of events leading up to the tragedy. Formal FIR details and statements from investigators were not immediately released, officials said.
The incident has added pressure on local authorities responsible for management of victims and coordination with distant families who travelled to Noida for identification and post-mortem procedures. Officials at the mortuary managed crowd control and documentation, while medical examiners completed examinations required under law. Next-of-kin completed necessary formalities to claim bodies for last rites once identification and documentation were finished.
The tragedy raises renewed questions about the safety of overnight inter-state bus services, emergency preparedness on high-speed corridors such as the Yamuna Expressway, and regulatory oversight of private operators. Local law enforcement said the probe will examine vehicle maintenance records, the condition of safety equipment on board and adherence to prescribed norms by the operator and staff.
Family members who lost loved ones will need to obtain death certificates and other legal documents before proceeding with funerals, which, per the relatives accounts collected at the mortuary, many planned to conduct in their home districts. Police said they will continue to provide procedural support as required by families and investigate the exact cause and culpability fully.
Further details on the investigation, including charges and forensic findings, will be disclosed as the probe progresses and officials complete formal statements.
