Mumbai:  A suspected tyre burst may have caused the ghastly accident on the Nagpur-Mumbai Expressway that claimed the lives of 26 passengers, including three children, officials said here on Saturday.

Preliminary inquiries suspect that the bus driver may have lost control after the tyre burst.

The vehicle then hit an electric pole and veered onto the road-divider, overturned and skidded for some distance before the diesel tank burst into flames and killed most of the occupants.

The police officials have been directed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to conduct a probe into the incident as well.

The proprietor of Vidarbha Travels company, Virendra Darne, who owned the ill-fated bus, claimed the mishap was caused by a tyre burst.

He said that the bus was just three years old, bought in January 2020.

The vehicle was grounded for a year due to lockdown.

Darne claimed the driver was experienced.

"The driver of the bus who survived the accident said that the vehicle overturned after a tyre burst, and later caught fire killing 26 people on the spot and leaving 8 others injured," Buldhana Police said.

The driver has been detained by the police for questioning and more precise details on the possible causes of the accident are expected to emerge later.

(With UNI inputs)