At least one person died and 30 people were injured after a luxury bus bound for Odisha's Paradip caught fire in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district on Friday night, police said.

West Bengal minister Manas Ranjan Bhunia confirmed one fatality in the accident. From videos shot on mobile phones by people of the locality, the bus was seen engulfed in flames.

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The incident took place when the bus, which departed Babughat in Kolkata around 5 pm, neared the Madhabpur area around 10 pm, a police officer said, adding the AC bus was moving slowly.

At least 30 people travelling in the vehicle tried to rush out of the vehicle by smashing side windows. Some of them fell into a roadside ditch, while several of them were admitted to nearby hospitals.

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The driver and the helper also jumped out of the vehicle after stopping it, said the police officer.

Fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames, the official said, adding the cause of the blaze was yet to be ascertained.
(With PTI inputs)

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