Jammu: A bomb disposal squad and the district forensic mobile unit on Friday collected samples from the passenger bus that caught fire on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Ramban district, as police launched a detailed investigation into the cause of the incident, officials said.
The BDS and forensic teams, equipped with technical equipments, reached the site near Karool and carried out a thorough examination of the gutted vehicle, they said.
The teams screened the wheels, front portion and interior of the fire-damaged bus and collected various samples for forensic analysis to determine the exact cause of the blaze, officials said.
All possible angles are being examined and the investigation is in progress, they said.
The sleeper bus, carrying Amarnath pilgrims from Rajasthan, was travelling from Srinagar to Jammu after the devotees had offered prayers at the holy cave shrine when it caught fire near Karool in Ramban district on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway on Thursday.
Officials said passengers noticed smoke after one of the bus tyres reportedly burst and quickly got off the vehicle before it was engulfed in flames.
Police, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Army personnel, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Fire and Emergency Services and volunteers of the Civil Quick Response Team (QRT) rushed to the spot and launched rescue and firefighting operations.
Deputy Commissioner Ramban Mohammad Alyas Khan had said all 47 occupants, including the driver and conductor, escaped unhurt.
The fire completely gutted the bus. While preliminary information suggested the blaze broke out after a tyre burst, the exact cause is yet to be established, pending the outcome of the forensic examination and police investigation.
Traffic on the strategic highway remained disrupted briefly during the firefighting operation before normal movement was restored.
