Telangana: A Telangana State Road Transport Corporation luxury bus in Alair, Telangana, caught fire on Tuesday afternoon, threatening the lives of over 30 passengers.
According to reports, the incident, caused by a short circuit in the bus, occurred by the side of a road around 50 km from Hyderabad.
During the journey from Warangal to Hyderabad, the driver, who had noticed a spark in the engine, stopped the bus immediately and asked all passengers to alight. The bus was destroyed in a matter of minutes.
However, the passengers were able to escape quickly.
Asserting that such an incident should not recur, Telangana Transport Minister P Mahender Reddy ordered an inquiry into the incident and asked for a detailed report
from transport officials.
But this is not the first incident where a bus caught fire mid-journey.
Last week, around 70 people from Uttar Pradesh, mostly migrant workers, survived an almost identical incident while travelling in a double-decker bus.
The bus was on its way to Bahraich when its double battery caught fire due to short-circuit. The driver slammed the brakes and had everyone in the crowded bus jump off.
In December, a bus caught fire in Madhya Pradesh.
A low-floor air-conditioned bus travelling from Bhopal to Bairagarh caught fire when a diesel pipe burst. A passenger had noticed the diesel leak.
The bus burnt for nearly half an hour before emergency teams arrived.