E-Paper
Alert driver saves all 42 passengers as bus catches fire in Pune
The alertness of driver saved 42 lives on Tuesday when Shivashahi bus of MSRTC caught fire in the Shastrinagar area of Yerawada in Pune
PUNE The alertness of its driver saved as many as 42 lives on Tuesday when a semi-luxury bus run by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) under the brand name, ‘Shivashahi’ caught fire in the Shastrinagar area of Yerawada on the Ahmednagar highway. All 42 passengers escaped unhurt though the bus was completely charred in the blaze. Three fire tenders were rushed to the spot and they brought the inferno under control in 15 minutes in the afternoon.
According to the information shared by the Pune fire brigade, the driver of the MSRTC ‘Shivashahi’ bus travelling from Yavatmal in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra to Pune first realised near Kharadi that the bus had overheated and immediately stopped the bus and asked all 42 passengers to deboard it at Kharadi chowk. He then drove the empty bus along Ahmednagar road but as it neared the Shastrinagar chowk in Yerawada, it burst into flames at which point, the driver had the presence of mind to jump out of it.
Subhash Jadhav, fire officer, Yerawada fire station, said, “There was a call to the Pune fire brigade at 11.30 am so within the next 10 minutes, two of our water tankers and one fire brigade reached the spot. And in 15 minutes, the fire was brought under control. As there were no passengers in the bus, no one suffered any injuries.”
However, the burning bus led to a traffic jam as vehicular movement on one corridor of the Pune-Ahmednagar highway was stopped for half-an-hour till such time the fire brigade brought the blaze under control. According to Ramakant Gaikwad, MSRTC Pune divisional controller, air-conditioned buses often overheat and catch fire.
“It was a good call to get all the passengers to deboard which saved their lives. The exact reason behind the fire will be investigated by our senior officials. For us, the safety of our passengers is most important,” Gaikwad said.
In October this year, 12 people including a minor died after a private luxury bus caught fire in Nashik. The vehicle caught fire following a collision with a coal-laden truck.
