NEW DELHI: At least 20 passengers were killed when an AC bus traveling from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur in India’s Rajasthan caught fire on Tuesday afternoon.

According to local reports, 19 bodies were recovered from the bus, while one injured passenger died later in Jodhpur Hospital.

MLA Pratap Puri, who reached the site along with Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, confirmed the death toll to the media.

The Prime Minister’s Office announced that each deceased’s family will receive INR 2 lakh and each injured passenger INR 50,000 from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief on social media platform X, writing: “I am deeply saddened by the loss of lives in the accident in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. My condolences are with the bereaved families, and I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured.”

The private AC bus, which was completely gutted in the blaze, caught fire suddenly while en route from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur.

Following first aid, all injured passengers were referred to Jodhpur for further treatment, Indian media reported.