Yet another BEST bus catches fire in Mumbai

Mumbai : A BEST bus caught fire at Santacruz depot in the early hours of Tuesday, marking the fourth bus fire reported this month and the third such incident at a depot, officials said. The incident involved a bus from Santacruz depot (Mateshwari contractor). No injuries were reported.

According to preliminary information, the bus had been marked “sick” due to a clutch defect and was undergoing repairs at the depot. After the repair work was completed, the driver took the vehicle towards the fuel station within the Santacruz depot for refuelling. At around 2.45 am, a short circuit reportedly occurred in the driver’s cabin, triggering a spark and which led to the fire, said a BEST spokesperson.

The staffers at the depot responded immediately and used around 20 fire extinguishers to contain the flames while the fire brigade was alerted. The fire was brought under control by 3.09 am by spraying water on the bus, officials said.

The latest incident adds to a series of fires reported at bus facilities this month. On May 3, an electric AC double-decker bus caught fire at Kurla bus depot. In another recent incident, two CNG-run buses were gutted in a fire at Pratikshanagar bus depot. A former BEST committee member said that adequate precaution should be taken to ensure that buses dont catch fire at the depots as this has become a recurring incident. The BEST fleet is also short of four buses at a time when it is in urgent need of more buses to improve the frequency, the panel member added.