THANE : Eight persons were charred to death and 14 others were injured when a luxury bus collided with a diesel tanker near Kude village on Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway in the wee hours today. The luxury bus was going to Ahmedabad from Pune when it collided with the tanker at Kude village within the Manor police station limits in Palghar taluka.

The accident took place around 1.45 AM. The tanker belonged to the BPCL and was carrying diesel towards Hazira in Gujarat. Due to the collision, both the vehicles immediately caught fire, police said. As per the initial reports, all the deceased were occupants of the ill-fated bus. “The bodies could not be identified as they are charred beyond recognition. The bodies have been sent for postmortem. The district administration is in the process of contacting the bus operator to get the names of the passengers travelling in the bus,” Thane District Collector P Velrasu told PTI here.

The administration is making all efforts to establish the identify of the victims and those identified would be handed over after due verification, he added. The injured are undergoing treatment at Manor Rural Hospital and are said to be out of danger. Fire engines from the nearby areas brought the fire under control, officials said, adding that the district and police authorities are supervising the relief and rescue operations. On May 29, 2013 a similar accident involving a luxury bus and tanker close to this spot had left 14 people dead and 40 injured. PTI Report.