Passengers aboard a Hyderabad-bound bus escaped a fire mishap as four motorcyclists alerted the driver who pulled over on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad highway at Jupudi village of Ibrahimpatnam mandal in the district on Thursday.
According to informed sources, Arun Kumar, Pushpa Raju, Nagaraju and Siva Shankar of the village noticed smoke billowing out from the rear luggage compartment of an AC Garuda bus (service no. 1525) of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), chased it and gestured to the driver. Along with some locals, the youth drew water pipes from houses nearby and tried to put out the fire. Later, firemen doused the fire and cooled down the engine, which they suspected was its source. At the time of the mishap, there were 28 passengers on the 40-seater bus.
They were provided with another bus to Hyderabad.