Bus catches fire in Thane; passengers escape unhurt

Sixty five passengers travelling in a bus had a narrow escape after the vehicle caught fire in Maharashtra's Thane city on Tuesday, a civic official said.

The incident took place at around 8 am near Utaleshwar in the city limits, Thane Municipal Corporation's regional disaster management cell (RDMC) chief Avinash Sawant said.

The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus carrying at least 65 passengers was on way to neighbouring Bhiwandi town from Thane, he said.

After noticing the fire, the driver immediately stopped the bus and raised an alarm following which the passengers got down, the official said.

The bus was partly burnt, he said.

Local firemen and a team of the RDMC rushed to the spot after being alerted and doused the blaze in half-an-hour, he said.

A short-circuit is suspected to have caused the fire in the bus, which belonged to the Bhiwandi depot, the official said. PTI COR GK GK