20221013 Pune: Narrow escape for 27 pilgrims as bus bursts into flames
India Oct 13 2022 “Automobile & Railway”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Pune: Narrow escape for 27 pilgrims as bus bursts into flames
Updated: 2022-10-13
PUNE: As many as 27 pilgrims from Bhiwandi of Thane district had a narrow escape with their lives, after the mini-bus they were travelling in caught fire near Ghodegaon, some 80km from Pune city. The mishap took place around 6.30am on Wednesday as the bus was headed towards the Bhimashankar temple.
Assistant inspector Jeevan Mane of the Ghodegaon police said, “Bhau Ichake, the driver of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation Limited (MSRTC) bus, who was coming from the opposite side, noticed flames from the engine of the mini-bus and immediately alerted its driver.”
Mane added that mini-bus driver Babu Surpur of Dombivli stopped the vehicle. Surpur told TOI, “Most of the 27 pilgrims from Paye village in Bhiwandi were women and had hired the bus to visit Bhimashankar temple in Pune district. We left Paye around 11.30pm on Tuesday and reached Ghodegaon around 6.15am on Wednesday. While travelling on Ghodegaon-Bhimashankar road, an MSRTC bus driver coming from the opposite side alerted me about smoke emanating from the engine of our bus. I sensed trouble and immediately alerted the passengers to deboard. We did not allow them to take their luggage with them. All came out safely. After a few minutes, the bus caught fire.”
“Ghodegaon police reached the spot and tried to douse the fire with help from locals. However, the fire engulfed the bus and it was completely gutted,” Surpur said.
A woman pilgrim told TOI, “Had the driver not alerted us, we could have been trapped inside, like in the recent accident in Nashik. Our luggage was gutted. Thank god none of us sustained any injury.”
Surpur said he alerted the transport company owner. “Another bus was arranged, so that the occupants could go to the temple,” Surpur said.
Mane said that the documents of the mini-bus were also destroyed along with it. “A prima facie probe has revealed that a short circuit in the engine may have caused the fire. We have asked the bus owner to furnish the fitness certificate of the vehicle,” the police officer said.
The police will also inform the Regional Transport Office (RTO). “We have registered a case of accidental fire. After the probe, we will decide on a further course of action,” Mane said.
Web Source: The Times of India