A mass cremation was held on Sunday of 24 of the 25 victims charred to death after a private bus caught fire in Buldhana district, a senior police officer said. As most of the victims were charred beyond recognition after the bus caught fire on Saturday, efforts had been made to convince families for a mass cremation instead of a DNA analysis, the officer said.

The body of one of the victims will be handed over to the family for burial, an officer said earlier in the day. The DNA testing is a lengthy procedure, which may take days to ascertain the identity of each deceased, as per sources. The mass cremation of 24 bodies was held at Vaikunth Dham Hindu Smashan Bhoomi in Buldhana on Sunday. Relatives of the deceased and Maharashtra Minister Girish Mahajan were present during the cremation.