The bus that caught fire in Haryana’s Nuh district on Friday night, claiming nine lives, had started its journey from Hoshiarpur on May 10.

The pilgrimage to Mathura and Vrindavan had been organised by Shalimar Nagar resident Rakesh Sharma whose wife, son and niece perished in the tragedy.

“Rakesh has been arranging pilgrim trips for the past 12 years. His family accompanied him most of the time. This time, his wife Shashi, son Gautam, sister-in-law and her 10-year-old daughter Khushi had joined the pilgrimage. Sadly, Shashi, Gautam and Khushi died in the accident,” their neighbour Dinesh Bhardwaj said.

He said Gautam’s wife, who was with her parents in Jalandhar, was the first to receive the tragic news in the wee hours.

Another acquaintance of the family, Vansh Bhardwaj, said that Rakesh’s daughter had also gone for the pilgrimage but she had got off in Delhi. He said that another resident of their colony, Poonam Dadwal, who had recently moved to Mohali, had also lost her life in the mishap.

Two members of another family, Sunila Bhasin and her brother-in-law Ashok Bhatia, residents of Kamalpur and Model Town, respectively, also lost their lives in the incident. Sunila’s husband, Rakesh Bhasin, told relatives that Ashok’s body was burnt beyond recognition.

Victim Khushi’s grandfather Pinky Sharma said that three people from Hoshiarpur were admitted in Nuh and Rohtak hospitals with severe burn injuries. He said that the bodies were being brought back and the cremation would take place on Sunday.