3 kids among 20 charred to death after Jodhpur-bound bus catches fire, 15 critical

JAISALMER: Twenty people, including three children, died and 15 were critically injured when a bus travelling from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur caught fire on Tuesday afternoon near Thaiyat village, 10km outside Jaisalmer city. A likely short circuit in the bus' air-conditioning, which triggered a gas leak, is believed to be the cause of the inferno, Pokhran MLA Pratap Puri told reporters Tuesday evening. While 19 bodies were retrieved from inside the bus after it caught fire outside the Jaisalmer Army station, 16 passengers who were critically injured were given first aid at Jawahar Hospital in Jaisalmer and then shifted to Jodhpur for treatment. One of the 16 critically injured, Hussain Khan (75), died during treatment in Jodhpur. While six of the deceased belonged to Jodhpur, the rest were