Women kabaddi team's bus catches fire, 2 killed, 14 injured

Two people were killed when a bus carrying the women Kabaddi team representing India in the ongoing World Cup caught fire Thursday after colliding with an army truck near this Punjab town, police said.

Police officers said the victims included the driver of the bus and the driver of a Punjab Police Gypsy which was piloting the team bus.

Five-six members of the women team were said to be critical after receiving injuries in the accident which occurred on the outskirts of this town. Passers-by pulled out the team members from the burning bus.

However, the bus driver got trapped in his seat and was burnt to death. The army truck, which belonged to the cantonment here, also caught fire after the accident. Eye-witnesses told the police that the army truck and the police Gypsy first collided and the truck then went on to hit the team bus. Both vehicles caught fire immediately.

The women team players, who had been practising in Bathinda since three days, were being taken to Badal village, 40 km from here, for a dinner engagement with Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Badal is the native village of the chief minister.

The second Kabaddi World Cup is being played at various places across Punjab. The women's event is being held for the first time with teams from India, Turkmenistan, US and Britain participating.