Bengaluru (Karnataka): In a tragic incident, a conductor of a Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus was burnt alive after the bus caught fire, officials said. The incident took place in the wee hours of Friday at Lingadheeranahalli bus station which falls under the jurisdiction of Badarahalli police station.
The deceased was identified as 45-year-old Muthiah. According to official sources, the cause of the fire is not known yet and an investigation is on to ascertain the cause. Sources said the Summanahalli- bound BMTC bus (KA 57 F 2069) was parked at Lingadhiranahalli D Group Layout bus stand on Thursday night.
After parking the bus there, Muthiah along with the bus driver Prakash slept in the bus. The bus suddenly caught fire at around 4 am in morning and unfortunately the bus conductor was burnt alive. Fortunately, Prakash survived as he was not present inside the bus when it was engulfed in flames, an official said.
Police said Prakash got out of the bus to go to the washroom before the fire broke out. "We are investigating the case and the cause of the fire will be known after the investigation. The fire and emergency services rushed to the spot on information and managed to douse the flames. The bus was completely charred," the official.
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In a similar incident in Tamil Nadu, a Bengaluru- bound private bus caught fire near Mettur in the Salem district of the state. According to police, 10 passengers including a few women sustained burn injuries after they jumped out of the window while trying to save their lives. The injured were taken to the government hospital in Mettur for treatment.
43 passengers were on board the bus enroute to Bengaluru from Coimbatore when the bus caught fire at around 1.30 am when it reached Pochampalli. The driver noticed thick smoke emanating from the front of the bus after which he alerted the passengers. The passengers jumped to safety by breaking the windshields.
