A parked BEST bus caught fire late Sunday night at the Pratiksha Nagar Depot parking yard in Mumbai, triggering a swift response from the fire brigade and police officials.
No injuries were reported in the incident.
Fire breaks out in parked bus
According to officials, the incident took place at around 11.30 pm on May 24 and involved Bus No. 7692, which operates on Route No. 9 from the Pratiksha Nagar Depot (Mateshwari).
The bus had been parked and stabilised in the depot yard at around 10.21 pm when security guard Bin Nawaz noticed flames emerging from the idle vehicle during routine surveillance.
Security guard alerts authorities
The guard initially attempted to locate a fire extinguisher but was unable to access one due to the intensity of the flames. Authorities were immediately alerted, following which the fire brigade rushed to the spot.
Fire doused within minutes
Firefighters reached the depot at around 12.21 am and managed to completely douse the blaze by 12.30 am. Police personnel and media representatives also arrived at the scene shortly after the incident.
Officials said no passengers or staff members were injured in the fire. The exact cause of the blaze is yet to be ascertained.
Flames erupt on moving luxury bus near Vashi bridge, all 20 passengers escape safely
Tragedy was averted in Navi Mumbai after a passenger bus travelling from Bengaluru, Karnataka, to Rajkot in Gujarat caught fire on the Mumbai-bound lane of the Vashi bridge on Sunday afternoon. All 20 passengers onboard escaped after the blaze erupted suddenly from the driver’s cabin, creating panic on the busy route.
The incident occurred around 2.10 am near the start of the Vashi bridge. According to officials, the fire spread rapidly within minutes and engulfed a large portion of the bus before firefighters managed to bring it under control.
Driver Asif Sattarbhai Mamodia told officials that smoke first started emerging from the electrical wiring near the dashboard while the vehicle was moving. “There was a sudden spark near the wiring connection in the cabin and within moments flames started spreading,” he reportedly said during the preliminary inquiry.
Immediate response
Sources at the spot said the driver and cleaner initially attempted to control the fire but allegedly did not know how to properly operate the fire extinguisher installed inside the bus. This delay allowed the flames to intensify quickly and spread through the front section of the vehicle. Fortunately, the fire brigade reached the spot quickly after receiving an alert.
A fire officer at the scene said his team managed to prevent the blaze from spreading further despite the intensity of the fire. “Our priority was to ensure all passengers were evacuated safely and stop the fire from reaching nearby vehicles,” he said.
