Visakhapatnam: A major tragedy was averted after a bus of Kaveri Travels going to Anakapalle from Hyderabad, caught fire on NH-16 near Parawadapalem under Kasimkota mandal in Vizag district on Saturday morning. The driver stopped the vehicle in the nick of time and all 50 passengers alighted before the fire engulfed the bus.
Some people in Hyderabad had hired the bus to attend a marriage at the Kotturu area in Anakapalle town. On reaching Parawada-palem at 6.15 am on Saturday, the driver, K. Srinu, noticed smoke coming from the engine and stopped the bus. “I tried to douse the fire with a fire extinguisher and fire fighting system in the vehicle, but in vain. Then I asked all the passengers to get off the bus. After they got down, fire engulfed the bus completely,” the driver said. Thanking his stars, passenger G. Krishna said: “I thought the fire would engulf the bus before we could alight. We were lucky to get down unhurt.”
