30 passengers escape uninjured as bus catches fire in Karnataka

The back engine and AC at the rear of the vehicle caught fire in Hiriyuru taluk of Chitradurga district

The KSRTC bus that caught fire on NH 48.

As many as 30 passengers had a narrow escape after a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus caught fire on NH 48 near Giddobanahalli in Hiriyuru taluk of Chitradurga district on Tuesday.

The police said that all the passengers got out of the bus after the driver alerted them on seeing the fire at the rear end of the vehicle around 7 a.m.

Within minutes after the passengers got down, the bus was completely gutted.

The sleeper coach bus was on its way to Bengaluru from Belagavi.

The personnel of the Fire and Emergency Services rushed to the spot and doused the fire.

Tahsildar of Hiriyuru taluk Sathyanarayana told

The Hindu , “all the passengers have escaped unhurt. The rear end of the bus where the back engine and AC were present had caught fire.”

The reason for the fire is not yet known.