Kolhapur: In a horrific road accident reported from Maharashtra, a passenger was burnt to death while six others had a narrow escape when a private bus caught fire along the Pune-Bengaluru highway in Kolhapur district in the early hours of Saturday.
It is learnt that the engine caught fire at Mayur Petrol Pump between Gokul Shirgaon and Ujalaiwadi in Kolhapur around 1 AM on Saturday. About 30 passengers were aboard the vehicle when the fire broke out in the bus. Sources said that the driver and conductor fled from the spot on seeing the engine of the bus catching fire. Amid the commotion, the passengers in the bus too got down from the bus. However, one of the passengers, who was asleep at the time of the accident was trapped inside and was charred to death in the fire as per sources.
Locals, who rushed to the spot to rescue the passenger could not save the trapped passenger as the massive flames and billows of smoke caused a hindrance in the rescue operation. The Gokul Shirgaon police immediately rushed to the spot and called the fire brigade Kolhapur Municipal Corporation which extinguished the fire after hectic efforts.
The traffic on the National highway was disrupted for several hours due to the fire incident. Preliminary investigation into the incident has suggested that the fire was triggered due to engine failure. Police are searching for the absconding driver of the bus and his conductor while further investigation is going on.
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