Fire in moving city bus, major tragedy averted

CLOSE SHAVE Passenger noticed flames around the rear wheel and alerted the driver. The incident raises a question over the fitness of city buses

LUCKNOW: Fire broke out in a moving CNG-fuelled city bus ferrying passengers near Bangla Bazar on VVIP road in Ashiana on Monday morning. However, a major tragedy was averted as the bus was stopped in time.

The passengers rushed out when the driver stopped the bus on hearing their screams and the fire was doused timely. At least 20 passengers were aboard the bus at the time of the incident.

LUCKNOW: Fire broke out in a moving CNG-fuelled city bus f er rying passengers, near Bangla Bazar on VVIP road in Ashiana on Monday morning. However, a major tragedy was averted as the bus was stopped in time. No one was injured.

The passengers rushed out when the driver stopped the bus on hearing their screams and the fire was doused timely. At least 20 passengers were aboard the bus at the time of the incident.

The passengers said the incident had raised a big question mark on the fitness of city buses. They said the bus would have turned into a ball of fire had the flames reached the CNG compartment.

“We were lucky as a youth sitting on the last seat alerted the driver after feeling heat under the bus. He spotted flames around the rear tyre when he peeped out of the window,” said Suresh Pal, a railway employee who was travelling in the bus.

Pal said the incident took place when the bus was going to Mohanlalganj from Dubbaga via Ashiana at around 11am. He said the driver was also alert, as he responded immediately after hearing the passengers’’ screams and stopped the bus.

“It was really scary. When we stepped out of the bus we learnt that smoke was also emanating from the engine. A little delay would have landed us in major trouble. We would have been trapped from both the sides,” said Suleman, another passenger, while narrating the incident. He said the flames were, however, doused timely, as the fire tenders reached the spot within five minutes after the driver called the fire control-room.

The driver Aman said he was surprised at the incident, as he was unable to understand the reason behind the flames in the rear tyre. He said he had been driving this bus only for the past three months so he was unaware about its fitness. He said he had informed the authorities concerned about the incident and they were probing the reason behind the fire.