Nagpur: A bus suddenly caught fire on a highway in the Amravati district of Maharashtra on Tuesday morning. The accident happened near Sai Baba temple, Kondhali, on Nagpur-Amravati national highway. Sources said that the engine of the bus caught fire due to an electrical short-circuit. Altogether 16 passengers were travelling on the bus when the mishap occurred. Luckily, no casualty was reported. On seeing smoke coming out of the engine, the alert driver stopped the bus and all passengers were evacuated safely. Responding quickly, the bus driver and conductor helped in taking out the passengers from the vehicle, before fire could engulf the bus.
It has also been learnt from the sources that some belongings or luggage of the passengers were gutted in the fire. The ill-fated bus bearing registration number MH-06-BW-0788 was coming from Ganeshpeth. It was on its way to Amravati on Tuesday morning. After a brief stoppage, the bus left from Kondhali. Suddenly, the engine of the bus caught fire. After seeing smoke coming out of the engine, driver Abdul Zaheer Shaikh pulled the bus over to a side of the highway. The bus driver Abdul with the help of conductor Ujwala Deshpande, evacuated all the passengers safely out of the bus.
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On receiving information, a team of police from Kondhali police station rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. Besides, a fire tender was also pressed into service to douse the flames. A thick plume of smoke was billowing out of the bus. The bus had turned into an inferno. Motorists and commuters moving on the flank of the highway were giving just a passing glance at the incident.
