Night Bus Traveling to Konkan Burns Down Completely; Driver’s Quick Actions Saves All 44 Passengers
Forty-four passengers narrowly escaped when a private luxury bus caught fire on the Mumbai-Goa highway in Maharashtra’s Raigad district at around 2 am on Sunday, 24 August.
The incident occurred near the Kashedi tunnel in Poladpur early morning. Police officials said that the driver’s quick action and presence of mind prevented a major tragedy. The bus was travelling from Mumbai to Malvan in Sindhudurg district and suffered a tyre burst just before entering the tunnel.
Realizing the danger, the driver applied the emergency brakes and sensing danger, he asked all passengers to get down immediately. Within minutes, the fire spread rapidly across the vehicle.
Police and fire brigade teams reached the spot quickly. Traffic on both sides of the busy highway was halted as a precaution. During the fire, there was also a blast in the bus’s diesel tank, but by then, passengers had already moved to a safe distance. Fortunately, no one was injured.
The fire was brought under control by 3 am, and traffic movement was restored soon after. A case has been registered at Poladpur Police Station, and further investigation is underway.
