According to eye witness accounts, the bus, which came to from Bhabhua, took the wrong line and hit the oil tanker. The oil tanker caught fire instantly gulping the entire bus.

M K Thakur, the officer in charge of nearby Jagdishpur Police Station, while narrating the event said, ``every thing was over within less than fitteen minutes. By the time we reached the spot the ashes of the dead persons were sprayed around.'' According to him, the bus was racing mad to reach Arrah in time to yesterday's Khabardar rally.

It was a ghastly scene for the locals to narrate. Four persons, including a women, who tried to jump from the front gate of the bus were caught in the inferno. However, the driver of the oil tanker had a miraculous escape and escapedthe place. The police are out on a search to nab him. Thakur with horror large on his face said: ``Never in my life have I seen such a ghastly incident. This is something beyond recounting. Only six bodies could be extracted from the debris of the burnt bus. Of these two were identified and the rest were cremated by the district administration.''

The locals complain that travelling in the private buses has been a nightmare as the operators are least bothered about the plight of the passengers, often allowing them to stand in the middle of the seats besides carrying them on the roofs.