A private luxury bus caught fire on the Samruddhi Highway while travelling from Mumbai to Jalna early this morning. It was carrying 12 passengers, besides the driver and his assistant. The driver promptly emptied the bus and saved the passengers' lives.
The incident occurred on the highway's Nagpur Lane around 3 am. A major accident was averted due to the quick thinking of the bus driver, Hussain Sayyed. He stopped the bus just in time and evacuated the passengers, thereby saving a dozen lives.
Visuals showed the entire structure of the bus engulfed in the fire.
On information, fire officials, highway police, and toll plaza officials rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control. Ambulance and lifeguard teams also arrived on time.
The bus fire caused a jam on the Nagpur Lane for some time. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.
A handful of incidents of buses catching fire on remote highways have raised concerns among authorities and passengers alike over the past few weeks. The deadliest among them occurred in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, last week when a bus burst into flames after being rammed by a two-wheeler. Among the dead were 19 passengers.
In another instance, a double decker sleeper bus caught fire near the Revri toll plaza on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway last Sunday. All 70 passengers were safely evacuated by the driver and the conductor.
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