Twenty-seven people on their way to Bhimashankar temple in Pune had a narrow escape early on Wednesday after the private bus they were travelling in caught fire and was completely gutted. As soon as the fire was noticed, the bus driver alerted the passengers and they managed to deboard immediately, the police said.
According to officials at Ghodegaon police station under Pune Rural jurisdiction, the passengers from Paye village in Thane district’s Bhiwandi taluka began their journey to Bhimashankar temple in Khed taluka late on Tuesday night.
There were 27 people, including 23 women, three male passengers and one driver, on the bus, the police said.
The police and local villagers tried to douse the fire but the bus, along with the passengers’ luggage, was completely gutted. (Express Photo)
“Around 6.30 am, when the bus was on Ghodegaon Bhimashankar Road, a fire was noticed. The driver made all the passengers deboard quickly. Soon after, the fire intensified and the entire bus was engulfed in flames. The passengers called the police station and our team rushed to the spot,” Inspector Jeevan Mane, in charge of Ghodegaon police station, said.
The police and local villagers tried to douse the fire but the bus, along with the passengers’ luggage, was completely gutted. “No casualties were reported in the incident due to the timely deboarding of the passengers,” said Inspector Mane.
The incident comes days after 12 passengers on a bus were killed last week on Aurangabad Nashik Highway in Maharashtra after it hit a truck carrying diesel.
