Fire engulfs the MSRTC E-Shivai bus on Monday near Swargate bus depot
Pune: About 17 passengers narrowly escaped after an MSRTC electric bus caught fire near Swargate on Monday morning. No injuries or casualties were reported.
Arun Siya, Pune divisional controller of the MSRTC, said preliminary investigations indicated that a short circuit may have triggered the fire. He then told all the passengers to evacuate. However, the fire intensified, prompting us to call the fire brigade,” Siya said. An MSRTC official said the flames eventually engulfed the entire bus despite efforts to control the fire. “Further investigations will be conducted to establish the exact cause of the incident,” the official added. Officials at the transport utility said all passengers were fortunate to escape unharmed, crediting the driver’s quick response for ensuring their safe evacuation before the fire spread.
The E-Shivai bus, operated by the Solapur depot of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), had arrived in Pune from Solapur and was heading towards the Swargate depot with the passengers when the incident occurred. “The driver noticed smoke coming from the bus and pulled over immediately to the side of the road. After the driver alerted us, MSRTC officials initially tried to douse the flames using fire tenders.