IN A major accident, a private passenger bus belonging to Khurana Travels enroute from Nagpur towards Mumbai, suddenly caught fire on Samruddhi Expressway on Tuesday at around 3 am, near Channel 300.1 on the Mumbai corridor, completely destroying the bus. However, a major tragedy was averted as all the 36 passengers were safely evacuated in time.

 

Wahid Sheikh (36), a resident of Nagpur, was driving the bus. As soon as Sheikh noticed the fire, he immediately stopped the bus on the roadside and safely evacuated all the passengers. Within minutes, the bus was engulfed in flames and was completely burnt down. The incident occurred in the Shivni Pisa area near Dursabid village in Sindkhed Raja taluka.

 

Traffic was also disrupted for a few hours after the incident. However, both the Highway and local police, with the help of Fire Departent brought the fire under control and smooth traffic was resumed. As per reports, Malkapur Police sub-centre Dursabid, while carrying out night patrolling on the expressway, noticed the fire and informed the police station.

 

Upon receiving this information, Assistant Police Inspector Sandeep Ingle, along with his colleagues and two Maharashtra Security Force (MSF) personnel, immediately reached the spot and saw a Khurana Travels bus (MH-40/CT-8043) burning on the roadside. When questioned, driver Sheikh stated that, a short circuit in the bus’ wiring caused the fire to break out suddenly.

 

A fire engine was also called to the scene, and the fire was brought under control. The passengers were then safely dropped off at the Dusarbhid toll plaza in a Government vehicle. The exact cause of the fire is still unclear, but preliminary assessment suggests that it may have been caused by a short circuit or a technical malfunction.