Another sleeper bus catches fire in Greater Noida, all 32 passengers escape

The private bus, which was travelling from Delhi’s Red Fort to Muzaffarpur in Bihar, caught fire near Sector 148 on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway around 5pm, police said

Less than two weeks after nine passengers were killed in a bus fire on the Yamuna Expressway, another air-conditioned double-decker sleeper bus caught fire in Greater Noida on Tuesday evening, but all 32 passengers escaped safely after the driver stopped the vehicle and evacuated them when smoke began billowing from the engine.

A preliminary investigation suggested that a short circuit in the engine may have triggered the fire. The driver and conductor were detained for investigation, police and fire officials said. (HT Photo)

The private bus, which was travelling from Delhi’s Red Fort to Muzaffarpur in Bihar, caught fire near Sector 148 on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway around 5pm, police said.

A preliminary investigation suggested that a short circuit in the engine may have triggered the fire. The driver and conductor were detained for investigation, police and fire officials said.

The incident comes days after nine people, including four women, were charred to death when an air-conditioned double-decker bus caught fire on the Yamuna Expressway on the night of September 23.

Giving details of Tuesday’s incident, police said smoke began emerging from the engine while the bus was travelling on the expressway.

“As smoke started billowing from the engine, the driver stopped the bus on the side of the expressway, and immediately safely evacuated all passengers before the bus was engulfed by flames,” said Abhay Kumar Mishra, additional deputy commissioner of police, Greater Noida.

“Police were alerted by a passerby, and we rushed to the spot and also alerted the fire services,” Mishra said.

A passenger told the media, “As the fire broke out in the engine, the driver shouted at everyone to save their lives. We got off the bus and tried to extinguish the fire using sand, but it did not work. The fire tenders arrived later, but by then the entire bus had been engulfed in flames.”

Fire officials said four fire engines were pressed into service.

“Due to the presence of luggage and diesel, the fire completely engulfed the bus. After 45 minutes of continuous efforts, the fire was brought under control,” said Pradeep Kumar Chaubey, chief fire officer, Gautam Budh Nagar.

Police said most of the passengers on the bus were residents of Bihar.

Udit Narayan Pandey, assistant regional transport officer (enforcement), said arrangements were being made for the passengers to continue their journey to Bihar.

“Our first priority is to arrange a bus for the passengers from Gautam Budh Nagar to Bihar. We are arranging it. The bus, registered in Gopalganj, Bihar, has 36 challans amounting to around ₹1.5 lakh, while all its documents, including the pollution certificate and permit, are valid,” Pandey said.

Traffic on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway was also briefly affected due to the fire. Police subsequently called in cranes to remove the bus from the main carriageway.

“The bus driver and conductor were detained for detailed investigation,” said Vinod Kumar, station house officer of Knowledge Park police station.

Multiple videos of the incident went viral on social media, with several purportedly capturing a loud blast before the bus was engulfed in flames. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the videos.

On the night of September 23, nine people died after an AC double-decker bus travelling from Delhi’s Kashmere Gate towards Mahoba caught fire on the Yamuna Expressway in Jewar, Greater Noida, following a short circuit in the engine.

Police subsequently arrested four people in connection with that incident, including two drivers, the conductor and the manager of the travel company.