A luxury bus carrying 22 people caught fire on the Sion-Panvel Highway in Maharashtra's Thane district on Sunday, though all passengers and the driver escaped without injury.
The incident was averted from becoming a tragedy largely due to the driver's prompt reaction. While the bus was still moving, he spotted smoke rising from the engine area, immediately pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road, and urged all passengers to get off without delay.
Fire officer UB Akre of the Vashi fire station confirmed that two fire engines along with a water bowser were dispatched to the site. Firefighters took approximately 30 minutes to fully douse the flames, after which cooling operations were carried out to prevent any rekindling.
Despite the swift response, the bus itself was left completely destroyed. The origin of the fire has not yet been determined, and authorities have launched an investigation to establish the cause.
