Bus carrying 36 passengers catches fire on e-way, none injured

Luxury bus catches fire on Pune-Mumbai Expressway, 36 passengers safe. No casualties reported. Fire caused by tyre burst and short circuit.

Thirty-six passengers narrowly escaped a tragic fate when a private luxury bus caught fire on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway early Saturday morning. No casualties or injuries were reported in this incident, officials said.

A private passenger bus burst into flames on the Mumbai Pune Expressway near Adhey village on Sunday. (HT PHOTO)

According to authorities, the incident occurred at around 7:30 am near Adhe village in Maval as the bus was travelling from Mumbai to Kolhapur. Initial investigation revealed that the fire erupted due to a tyre burst and subsequent short circuit.

“The bus was travelling on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway towards Pune. When it reached Adhe village in Maval, it suffered a tyre burst bus and caught fire soon afterwards,” a fire official said. All 35 passengers and the bus driver were safely taken out of the bus in time, and nobody suffered any injury, he said. A major part of the bus was gutted in the blaze.

Teams of State Highway Police, IRB, Traffic Police, and Fire Brigade immediately rushed to the spot and extinguished the flames. Videos of the bus engulfed in fire, with thick plumes of smoke rising into the sky were circulating on various social media platforms.

Considering the safety and security of the passengers, vehicular movement on the expressway was halted for some time. (With agency inputs)