Bus catches fire on busy road, passengers escape unharmed

Kochi: A major disaster was averted on Saturday morning when a barely two-year-old KSRTC superfast bus caught fire at Desom on the national highway while on its way from Angamaly to Thiruvananthapuram. The quick actions of the driver and the conductor of the bus, along with the cooperation of passengers and assistance from passersby, ensured safety of all onboard.The bus, which was carrying 38 passengers, left Angamaly depot at 7.50am and reached Kunnumpuram at Desom, Aluva, by 8am. Sachu Stephen and Gokul Kumar G were the driver and conductor of the bus, respectively. “The fire originated from the gearbox near the driver's seat. A smell initially came from the gearbox, which was soon followed by smoke and sparks. Seeing this, several women passengers stood up and raised the alarm. Without wasting time, I pulled the bus over to the roadside and quickly opened both doors to allow the passengers to exit. Within two minutes, all passengers had safely disembarked,” said Sachu Stephen“If the fire had reached the door control system, it would have been much harder to evacuate everyone,” Sachu Stephen said, relieved that the quick evacuation prevented further danger.Sachu Stephen and Gokul Kumar then boarded the bus again and found the fire intensifying. Using fire extinguishers from the bus and other KSRTC buses that passed by the area, they worked to control the blaze, which had spread from the gearbox to the bottom of the bus but had not spread to the interior.Luckily, help arrived from three youths from Karunagapally, who were trained in fire and safety. One of them crawled underneath the bus to douse the flames risking his life. Six-seven fire extinguishers were used to bring the fire under control within 10 minutes. Gokul Kumar said that the bus typically carries 60 to 65 passengers, but only 38 were onboard that day, facilitating a quicker evacuation. The affected bus was later transported to the regional workshop in Aluva for inspection.KSRTC officials identified an electrical short circuit as the cause of the fire. The bus, a non-AC, air-suspended model, had run nearly 2,00,000km and covers about 522km daily on the Angamaly-Thiruvananthapuram route.Aluva Fire force personnel said they received the call about the fire around 8.10am. They rushed to the spot and by then the staff had doused the fire. However, smoke was still coming out from the vehicle and they pumped water to completely put out the fire.

Get an chance to win ₹5000 Amazon Voucher by taking part in India's Biggest Habit Index! Take the survey here