Navi Mumbai bus fire breakout: Passengers were safely evacuated

It was a close shave for the 22 passengers on the bus; the blaze was extinguished within 30 minutes.

On Thursday morning, passengers on a civic transport service bus narrowly avoided death when it caught fire in the Navi Mumbai district in Maharashtra. The fire in the bus in Navi Mumbai’s Manpada led to a temporary traffic jam. All the 22 passengers on the bus were safely evacuated, and the blaze was extinguished within 30 minutes.

Passengers onboard had a narrow escape.

22 passengers onboard the bus that caught fire in Manpada had a narrow escape on Thursday morning, said police. All of them were evacuated safely, and no one was injured. The incident led to a temporary traffic jam in the area for some time. The police said that the bus belonging to the Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) caught fire at Runwal Chowk in Manpada limits on Kalyan-Shilphata Road at around 10.30 am.

The blaze was extinguished within 30 minutes.

After being alerted, the driver promptly stopped the vehicle and urged passengers to disembark. He then jumped out to safety, said the police. The police quickly stopped traffic on both sides to prevent any eventuality. Police personnel, with the help of a water tanker, extinguished the fire within 30 minutes, said Pankaj Shirsat, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic. He said that after the blaze was brought under control, a crane was deployed to move the charred bus off the road, which helped restore the traffic flow.

Shirsat said, “The bus passengers were safely evacuated by the traffic police on patrol, and the fire was extinguished. Traffic on the road has now been restored. Special precautions were taken to ensure the safety of vehicles carrying flammable substances passing through the area.”