Jagdish Regar and Sunil Khatik were woken up by a deafening blast that shattered the night’s silence on Friday to find their sleeper bus engulfed in flames.
The bus was a few kilometres away from the Bhankrota area on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway when a truck collided with an LPG tanker, turning the stretch into an inferno that engulfed nearly 40 vehicles.
“We were a few kilometres away when we heard the blast. Flames shot up into the sky and, within moments, engulfed our bus,” Regar, 30, said.
Trembling, he recalled: “People were screaming and trying to escape but the door was locked. It was sheer panic.”
The blaze triggered by the accident has killed 14 people so far. More than 30 people suffered burn injuries.
The bus Regar and Khatik were travelling in was also reduced to ashes.
Khatik, 28, from the Bhavaninagar area of Rajsamand, said: “The fire spread so quickly. We looked out of the window and saw flames all around. Our bus was turning into a furnace. We knew we had to act fast if we wanted to survive.”
In a desperate bid to escape, the duo broke the window grille and shattered the glass.
“Our hands were burning but we didn’t stop. We jumped out and ran towards a nearby field,” Regar said.
The field became their refuge as the fireball continued to consume vehicles and lives.
Khatik said: “We stood there, watching in horror. Many people were running, their clothes on fire. It was a sight that will haunt us forever.”
Despite their injuries, the duo managed to contact their families.
“We called to tell them that we had survived. It was the hardest call to make because we knew so many hadn’t made it,” Regar said.
Help came in the form of Giriraj Vyas, an acquaintance from Jaipur.
“He rushed to the spot and took us to the hospital. Without him, we don’t know what we would have done,” Khatik said.
The authorities are investigating the cause of the collision and ensuring medical care for the injured. But for those like Regar and Khatik, the memories of that night will linger as a grim reminder of life’s fragility.
