Narrow escape for 36 passengers as bus catches fire in Andhra’s Prakasam

AMARAVATI: As many as 36 passengers of a private travel bus had a narrow escape as the vehicle caught fire in Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam district early Friday.

The accident occurred at Bheemavaram Adda Road in Ulavapadu mandal. There were no casualties, police said.

The bus belonging to Kaveri Travels was on its way to Tirupati from Hyderabad. The driver noticed smoke emanating from the engine. Showing presence of mind, he immediately stopped the bus and alerted passengers.

All the passengers managed to get down from the bus before the fire engulfed the vehicle. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief as all passengers deboarded.

Firefighting personnel rushed to the spot and doused the fire. The bus was completely gutted.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Police registered a case and took up an investigation.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have seen a series of bus fire incidents in recent months.

On April 27, a private travel bus was gutted in a fire in Telangana’s Medak district. There were no passengers in the bus at the time of the mishap. The driver and another person, who were in the bus, immediately got off after noticing the fire.