Hyderabad-bound Airavat bus catches fire near Devanahalli, moves on later

BENGALURU:  As many as 32 passengers had a narrow escape when the Hyderabad-bound KSRTC Airavat bus from Bengaluru caught fire near Rani Circle in Devanahalli on the outskirts of the city on Wednesday night. The alert passengers, who detected smoke and fire, assumed to be emanating from the rear engine and alerted the driver, who stopped the bus immediately and evacuated all the passengers. Tension prevailed at the spot for a while, which also affected traffic.

A police officer from Devanahalli police station said, “The incident occurred around 10.30pm when the bus (KA 57 F-212) was passing  through Rani Circle. A passenger noticed thick smoke coming from the engine in the rear and alerted the driver to stop the bus. Soon, some of the passengers got down as fire broke out and some of their luggage — which was closer to the engine — was gutted in the fire.

The exact cause for the accident is yet to be ascertained. The fire personnel, along with two fire tenders, rushed to the spot and doused the fire’’. Preliminary investigations also revealed the possibility that the engine was not damaged at all due to the fire, as within an hour, the bus driver resumed the journey in the same bus with the passengers.

“We also recorded the statement from the driver and the passengers about the incident. After a thorough inspection, we came to know that it was not a major issue. Thus, no case has been filed,” the officer added. The scare among the passengers was mainly due to recent accidents of buses burning due to on board fire, some of which have even claimed the lives of passengers.