Chennai: A Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC)bus, parked on the roadside on Thatchur near Madurantakam was gutted in the wee hours of Tuesday. No casualties were reported in the fire incident, police sources said.
Driver M.Ramesh (37) who parked the bus on the roadside on Monday night after the last trip, noticed thick smoke emanating from the front of the vehicle at around 1 am on Tuesday and alerted the conductor and the residents.
Even before the residents could help the duo to douse the fire, the flames engulfed the whole bus. Despite, severe water scarcity, people splashed water on the bus, in vain. On being informed the Madurantakam fire personnel rushed to the spot and put off the fire after a 30 minutes struggle. The Anikattu police registered a case and began an investigation.
According to the police, the bus which belonged to the Villupuram, TNSTC takes four trips from Chengalpattu bus terminus- Thatchur every day. Sources said, on Monday morning when the driver started the bus for the first trip of th day, he noticed smoke and alerted the transport employees, who repaired the bus and handed it over to the driver on Monday night.
Police sources said, on Monday night, the driver and the conductor Vajiravelu(32) has parked the vehicle on the Thatchur road and went to sleep on the platform of a closed shop. In the wee hours, the bus caught fire.
“According to prima facie evidence, the bus was gutted in a fire because of a short circuit. We will know the exact reason only after investigation. The incident will be investigated properly, added the police.
