Mangaluru, July 18: Dozens of passengers had a narrow escape after a fire erupted in the engine of a KSRTC Airavat bus traveling from Bengaluru to Mangaluru at Uppinangady on National Highway 75 on Thursday morning.
The fire was quickly extinguished by the driver and conductor of the bus with the help of local residents.
At around 6:30 am on Thursday, as the bus reached Subrahmanya Curve in Uppinangady, smoke began to fill the interior. Upon stopping the bus, the fire in the engine intensified.
Panchayat staff Isaac and Iqbaal, along with local residents Snake Zakariya, Siddik Koppal, and Joy, rushed to the scene and helped extinguish the fire using water and sand from the riverbank. They had been observing the flood situation in the river from the roadside when they noticed the smoke.
The bus had departed from Bengaluru on Wednesday night at 10:30 pm. Due to traffic congestion in the Shiradi Ghat section, there was a three-hour delay. The fire erupted when the bus finally reached Uppinangady.
The passengers were transferred to another bus, according to Airavat bus conductor Ashok Jadhav.
Traffic movement was affected as the bus was parked on the road after the fire was spotted, causing a one-kilometer-long line of vehicles on both sides of the highway.
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