LUCKNOW, May 16 -- "My son Devraj, just three years old, and my little Sakshi, she was only two, were sleeping. I couldn't reach them," said Ram Balak Mahato, a labourer from Bihar. "I stood outside, screaming, helpless, watching the fire swallow them. They burned right in front of my eyes. I will never forget their cries." A suspected short circuit in the engine area sparked a fire that rapidly engulfed a private sleeper bus on the outer ring road near Kisan Path in the Mohanlalganj area, Lucknow, early Thursday, trapping several sleeping passengers. Many passengers were asleep when the fire broke out around 5 am. Mahato had boarded the bus with his pregnant wife and two small children. While he managed to save his wife, his children, Devraj and Sakshi, were asleep and couldn't be rescued in time. When Hindustan Times visited the spot, the charred remains of bags, burnt documents, melted shoes, and the twisted structure of the bus bore witness to the scale of the tragedy. The stench of smoke lingered in the air as relatives searched for missing members. Ashok Mahato, another survivor from Bihar's Samastipur, lost his 55-year-old wife Lakkhi Devi and his 26-year-old daughter Soni. "I woke up to screams and choking smoke. I broke the window with an iron rod and jumped with my son. My wife and daughter were trapped inside. I could hear them shouting, but I couldn't go back," he said. Initial reports suggest the fire may have been caused by an electrical fault or overheating near the engine. Authorities have ordered a probe. htc...