Noida | The driver and conductor of the bus that caught fire on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida ignored a burning smell and refused to stop the vehicle despite repeated warnings from passengers, according to an FIR lodged based on a passenger's complaint.

Passengers raised an alarm and asked the driver to stop the bus, but the driver and conductor allegedly refused, telling them, "If you want to die, then die; we won't stop the bus," according to the FIR.

Nine passengers were killed after a bus travelling from Delhi to Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh caught fire late Wednesday night on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida.

The FIR was registered at the Jewar police station on the complaint of Suneel Kumar, a resident of Hamirpur district, who said he boarded the Raj Kalpana Travels bus from Kashmere Gate in Delhi around 9 pm on Wednesday. There were around 30-35 passengers on board, he said.

According to the complaint, the bus reached the 33-km mark on the Yamuna Expressway around 11.30 pm when passengers noticed a burning smell emanating from the driver's cabin.

"Despite being alerted, the driver dismissed the smell as something common in the bus and did not stop to inspect the vehicle," he claimed.

"The driver and conductor continued smoking bidis and cigarettes in the cabin and that flames suddenly erupted near the driver's seat shortly afterwards," he further claimed.

Despite the passengers' alarm, the driver and conductor allegedly told them that they won't stop the bus.

By the time the bus stopped, the fire had spread and the vehicle was filled with smoke, the complaint said. Kumar stated that he and several other passengers managed to jump out, while some remained trapped inside.

Many passengers suffered burns and were taken to Kailash Hospital in Jewar for treatment, where the complainant was informed that nine people had been declared dead, the FIR said.

The complaint alleged that the driver and conductor's "deliberate, gross negligence, rashness and reckless disregard" for passenger safety resulted in the deaths. It also said passengers' bags, luggage and mobile phones, including belongings kept in the luggage compartment and on the roof, were destroyed in the fire.

According to the police, nine passengers lost their lives due to burns and suffocation in the incident.

The driver and the conductor of the bus have been detained and further investigation is underway, the police said in a statement