Tourist bus catches fire near Jaunpur; All 14 passengers safe
When he opened the bonnet to check, he saw flames coming from underneath the bus. Without wasting time, he calmly asked all passengers to get off.
: A group of 14 passengers had a lucky escape after their Varanasi-bound tourist bus suddenly caught fire near Pratapganj market on the Jaunpur-Raebareli road. The AC bus was on its way from Delhi to Varanasi when the driver, Kamal, noticed the strange smell as the vehicle passed through Gulzarganj. Realising something was wrong, he quickly drove the bus out of the busy market area and stopped it at a safer spot.
When he opened the bonnet to check, he saw flames coming from underneath the bus. Without wasting time, he calmly asked all passengers to get off. Everyone managed to escape with their small bags, though the larger luggage left inside was destroyed in the fire.
Local shopkeeper Sanjay Kumar Agrahari said the fire spread to his nearby shop, burning helmets and other goods to ashes. One of the passengers, Shivkumar from Chambaltar district, said he felt thankful to get out in time. Meanwhile, traffic on the highway came to a standstill, with long lines of vehicles forming on both sides. Station officer Uday Pratap Singh from Sikrara police station arrived with his team and kept people away from the bus as its tyres burst in the heat.
Two fire engines arrived after about half an hour and took 45 minutes to bring the flames under control. Though the incident caused traffic delays for nearly an hour, vehicles began moving again once the fire was put out. All passengers later continued their journey by other means of transport.
