Lucky escape for passengers as bus goes up in flames

Electric short circuit suspected to be the cause for fire

The bus that went up in flames at Thimmarajupalem, near Parchur, in Prakasam district on Thursday.

Passengers of a private bus from Hyderabad had a miraculous escape when the vehicle caught fire at Thimmarajupalem, near Parchur, in Prakasam district in the early hours of Thursday.

Vehicular traffic on the Voderavu-Pidiguralla road was disrupted for over three hours with vehicles stranded for a few km following the accident.

Police swung into action and restored traffic. Preliminary probe by the police revealed that electric short circuit could have caused the accident.

The accident came close on the heels of an APSRTC bus plunging into a rivulet, claiming 10 lives at Jalleru near Jangareddygudem in West Godavari district on Wednesday.

Police said eight passengers who were seated in the front portion of the Chirala-bound air-conditioned bus quickly jumped to safety leaving their luggage behind. Most of the passengers had alighted en route enabling the limited number of passengers to quickly get out of the bus.

Pouring out their woes, a group of passengers who had boarded the bus at Hyderabad said there was no fire extinguisher in the bus and also the emergency exit did not open as well in the nick of time. They had lost their costly dresses and gold ornaments in the fire which gutted the bus, they lamented.