BHOPAL: A major accident was narrowly avoided on Wednesday evening when a passenger bus traveling from Guna to Gwalior suddenly caught fire near Badarwas town in Shivpuri district.
The driver allegedly applied breaks, abandoned the bus and fled, leaving dozens of passengers trapped inside as smoke and flames began spreading from the engine.
The incident occurred when bus number MP07 JD 8894 reached the outskirts of Badarwas. Witnesses said that as the fire broke out in the engine, the driver stopped the bus briefly and ran away instead of trying to control the situation.
Passengers, engulfed in thick smoke, screamed for help and began jumping out through windows and doors to save their lives, sources say.
Eyewitnesses reported chaotic scenes as terrified passengers broke windows and leapt onto the road, fearing the bus would explode.
The driver didn’t even warn anyone — he just ran away, a passenger told police. They had to break the glass and jump out because the bus was filling up with smoke.”
Local residents rushed to the spot after seeing the flames. Using water from a nearby hand pump, they managed to extinguish the fire before it could spread to the fuel tank, averting what could have been a major accident.
Officials said the fire was caused by a short circuit in the engine wiring, but the driver’s behavior is now under investigation.
The passengers were later shifted to another bus arranged by the operator and sent onward to Gwalior. No injuries were reported.
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