PATNA, May 16 -- A pall of gloom descended on Gangwara Bujurg village in Runnisaidpur, the native place of Ram Balak Mahto, who has been working in the bangle industry in Jaipur for the past four years. Mahto lost his two children in a tragic bus fire incident that occurred in the Mohanlalganj area of Lucknow in the early hours of Thursday. The Delhi-bound double-decker private sleeper bus had started from Begusarai. Mahto was accompanied by his seven-month pregnant wife, Guddi Devi. Recalling the horrific incident, Mahto said, "When I noticed smoke inside the bus, I somehow managed to get Guddi out first. But I couldn't save my two children, who were asleep on the seat. The emergency exit did not open, trapping passengers seated in the rear section." Five passengers, including a mother-daughter duo and two siblings aged between two and four years, were charred to death, while one person sustained injuries. Police said the ill-fated bus was carrying around 60-70 passengers, most of whom were asleep at the time of the accident. Many passengers, including the driver, smashed windows and jumped out to escape. As the bus filled with smoke, panic ensued. The fire quickly spread, and five people could not make it out in time. Eyewitnesses claimed the bus did not stop immediately after the fire broke out. Flames were visible from nearly a kilometre away. They said the fire started near the gearbox. Two gas cylinders were also found inside the bus. The other three deceased were identified as Lakhi Devi (55), her daughter Soni Devi (26) - both residents of Madhepur village in Samastipur district - and Madhusudan (21) of Begusarai. Lakhi Devi was travelling with her husband Ram Prakash alias Ashok Mahto, daughter Soni Devi, and grandson Aditya (3) to Allahabad, where her elder son Guddu Mahto resides. "My mother had recently undergone stomach surgery at a hospital in Mughalsarai (Chandauli district). The four of them boarded the bus from Musrigharari to Allahabad around 2:30 p.m. yesterday," said Deepak Mahto, her younger son. "After staying in Allahabad, she was supposed to visit Mughalsarai for a follow-up." Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath took cognisance of the incident and expressed condolences to the bereaved families....