A luxury passenger bus carrying 22 passengers caught fire while travelling on the Sion-Panvel Highway in Maharashtra’s Thane district on Sunday afternoon. All passengers escaped safely, officials said, reported the PTI.
According to fire officials, the incident occurred while the bus was in motion when the driver noticed smoke emerging from the engine.
The driver immediately pulled the vehicle to the roadside and alerted all passengers to evacuate, preventing any injuries.
Fire officer U B Akre said that two fire engines and a water bowser were deployed to the site after the alert was raised.
Firefighters battled the blaze for around 30 minutes before bringing it under control. Cooling operations were later carried out to ensure the fire did not reignite, according to the PTI.
Bus damaged
Officials stated that the luxury coach was completely gutted in the fire. However, no casualties or injuries were reported among the 22 passengers on board.
The vehicle was left extensively damaged after the blaze was extinguished.
Cause of fire under investigation
The officials said that the exact cause of the fire is yet to be determined, and a detailed investigation has been initiated.
Preliminary observations suggest the fire began in the engine compartment, but officials have not ruled out other technical faults.
Fire in transformer at Thane’s Wagle Estate
Meanwhile, in an another incident, a fire broke out in an electrical transformer in Wagle Estate area of Thane (West) in the early hours of Sunday.
The incident was reported to the Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) by the Pachpakhadi Fire Station.
Following the alert at around 12:45 am, police personnel, the fire brigade and Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) staff rushed to the spot. The response included one fire engine and one rescue vehicle.
MSEDCL staff first disconnected the electricity supply to ensure safety. After this, fire brigade personnel worked to control and extinguish the fire in the transformer.
The fire was completely brought under control and fully extinguished by around 1:10 am.
Officials said that no injuries were reported during the incident and the situation was safely handled.
(with PTI inputs)
