Driver rewarded for opening bus doors so passengers could escape fire

A female bus driver in Nanchang, East China’s Jiangxi Province has been rewarded after her quick actions allowed her passengers to escape after one of them set himself ablaze.

Deng Hongying said that she noticed that one man stunk of petrol as soon as he got on the bus, according to a post on the People’s Daily’s official WeChat account.

Deng then checked his bag and found a bottle of flammable banana oil, the report said.

She then made him leave the bus and throw the bottle away. After seeing he had disposed of it, she allowed him to get back on the bus.

But when a strong smell of petrol continued to emanate from the man, she opened both the bus’s front and back doors and demanded he get off.

However, the man refused to leave and set his bag alight, the People’s Daily reported.

“I had no idea what I should do when I saw the fire. I felt helpless and could not find my phone to call the police,” said Deng, according to a Sina Weibo post by thepaper. cn.

As the doors were already open, all the passengers were able to safely flee the flames, apart from the fire- starter who died in the vehicle, according to the People’s Daily.

Deng has received a promotion and a cash reward of 100,000 yuan ($ 14,700) from her employer.

Local police are investigating the case. The man’s identity and the reason for his actions have not been revealed.