Bengaluru: Around 45 passengers of a BMTC bus had a narrow escape when the vehicle caught fire at Burugunte village on the Attibele-Sarjapura road on the city outskirts on Friday.
The incident happened around 11 am and the alert bus driver, N. Nagesh, immediately stopped the vehicle, opened the doors and instructed the passengers to alight, as smoke was billowing up from the engine.
The bus (KA-57-F-1368) and route number 3F5/04, was of Marcopolo make and caught fire in front of MER Gas Company. The bus was bound for Sarjapura and had originated from Anekal, the police said.
As soon as he saw smoke, the driver raised an alarm and shocked passengers jumped out of the bus and ran to safety. Soon the entire bus got engulfed in fire, the police said.
The Fire and Emergency Service personnel along with the police rushed to the spot and doused the fire. Preliminary investigation revealed that the accident was due to an electrical glitch, but the exact cause will be ascertained only after a detailed inspection by the officials of the RTO, a senior police officer said.
