Navi Mumbai: Thirty-four people, including the bus driver and cleaner, had a narrow escape after the private bus they were travelling on caught fire on Mumbai-Goa highway, at Kolad in Raigad, around 11.45 pm Saturday. Most passengers on board were asleep when the driver and cleaner hurriedly woke them up and asked them leave the vehicle.
Soon after all passengers, including two children, had disembarked, the bus went up in flames, and all luggage on board the vehicle was gutted.
The bus had started the journey from Borivli and was bound for Malvan in Sindhudurg.
Around 11.35 pm, the driver halted the bus on hearing a loud sound from the bus. On checking, the cleaner found out that a rear tyre had gone flat, and sparks had begun to fly. The two crew members immediately alerted the passengers, the police said.
The police, who also reached the spot, summoned the fire brigade. It took about 30 minutes to extinguish the flames, while the cooling operation lasted another two hours, said constable Kishor Jadhav of Kolad police station.
Until alternative transport was arranged to pick up passengers of the ill-fated bus owned by Khaprobha Travels, the affected passengers were offered temporary accommodation at temples near the spot.
Fire engines from Roha and Nagothane, besides an engine from Deepak Nitrate Chemical Company were deployed in the fire-fighting operation.
