Mumbai: A Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking bus caught fire on Friday at 7.20 am, near Gokuldham market bus stop, at Goregaon (E). The driver, conductor and one passenger were in the bus at the time of incident, however all three managed to escape in the nick of time.
According to a statement released by the BEST authorities, the bus was proceeding from the railway station at Goregaon east to Nagri Niwara Prakalp. The reached Gokuldham bus stop, which falls on the way and as it left the stop, a loud sound like an explosion was heard from the compressed natural gas (CNG) tank pressure gauge, which is under the left front tyre.
Before the trio could realise, suddenly flames were emitting out of the CNG tank. Within a few minutes the entire bus was set ablaze. According to the preliminary inquiry, BEST officials say, it seems the cause of fire was the leakage from the CNG tank.
The conductor, bus driver and the passenger used their presence of mind and jumped out in the nick of time and were horrified to watch the entire bus turn to ashes. Local public who witnessed the incident called the fire brigade, which rushed one tender to the spot. They doused the fire within few minutes. The bus was towed to the Dhindoshi bus depot.