Bhubaneswar: An Ama Bus suddenly caught fire on National Highway-16 near Gadakharada Square in Odisha’s Khurada district on Thursday, triggering panic among passengers, all of whom escaped unharmed.
Sources said the bus was proceeding from Bharatpur in Bhubaneswar towards Khurda when the mishap took place. While the vehicle was completely gutted in the blaze, all passengers and bus staff managed to escape.
As smoke started billowing out of the engine compartment of the bus, the driver immediately stopped the vehicle on the roadside and advised all those on board to disembark. Around 40 people were on board when the mishap occurred.
Soon after the passengers came out of the bus, the vehicle was engulfed in flames. Three fire tenders were pressed into service, and it took over 30 minutes to douse the fire. However, the vehicle was reduced ashes.
l, leaving only its metal frame on the roadside. Traffic on the busy highway was briefly disrupted as fire tenders and police personnel managed the situation and cleared the route for other vehicles.
Senior officials of the Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) were not immediately available for comments. Preliminary investigations suggest that a short circuit might have led to the fire.
