20230617 Parked BEST electric bus catches fire in Malvani depot
India Jun 17 2023 “Automobile & Railway”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Parked BEST electric bus catches fire in Malvani depot
Updated: 2023-06-17
MUMBAI: An electric AC bus of the BEST caught fire while parked at Malvani depot on Friday afternoon. Nobody was injured in the incident. It was the first time that an e-bus had caught fire in the city.
Fire brigade officials said the blaze was in the AC unit on the roof of the bus, which was manufactured by Tata Motors. A spokesperson for Tata Motors said: “An isolated thermal incident took place while the bus was being charged at Malvani depot…We have taken immediate action and will closely work with the local authorities to identify the cause and accordingly take remedial actions.”
While sources said prima facie, the cause could be a short-circuit, BEST general manager Vijay Singhal said they are also probing “whether there was an issue with the battery box as there was a small explosion in it”.
A BEST spokesperson said the bus on wet lease had completed a few trips in the morning and had operated for 53km on route number 359 Ltd. “It arrived at Malvani depot at 1pm. Around 2.55pm, staffers noticed the fire and used basic fire-fighting systems. They also alerted the fire brigade, who extinguished the blaze,” he added.
A few months ago, three CNG buses on wet lease had caught fire, leading to the recall of 400 such vehicles for inspection. This had inconvenienced commuters for a few weeks as there was a shortage of buses on many routes. On Friday’s incident, Singhal said: “We’ll look into the reasons behind the fire and take corrective measures for all e-buses. But the electric fleet will co-ntinue on the road and commuters will not be inconvenienced.”
Web Source: The Times of India