Coimbatore: Passengers of a private electric omnibus had a narrow escape when the vehicle went up in flames after hitting the median near Karumathampatti in the early hours of Sunday. The passengers were rescued by two truck drivers, who broke open the glass windows of the bus and helped them get out of the vehicle.A police officer said the incident took place when the electric omnibus was heading to Coimbatore city from Trichy city with 24 passengers on board. “When the bus neared Karumathampatti around 2.30am, the driver lost control over the vehicle, which crashed into the median and caught fire. Two truck drivers noticed the flames, stopped their vehicles on the roadside, broke open the glass windows of the bus, and helped the passengers get out of it. At least 21 passengers sustained minor injuries in the incident.”When alerted, the Karumathampatti police sent the injured passengers to nearby private hospitals. The remaining three passengers, along with the driver and conductor of the bus, escaped without injuries.Meanwhile, fire and rescue services personnel attached to the Karumathampatti and Sulur fire service stations reached the spot and doused the fire. The omnibus was completely destroyed in the fire. The Karumathampatti police held an inquiry with bus driver A Pasupathi, 29, of Thandarampet in Tiruvannamalai district, and conductor S Abishek, 21, a native of Othakkadai in Madurai district.Police officers are planning to honour the truck drivers – C Sabarimalai, 29, and M Ramesh, 29, of Tiruchuli in Virudhunagar district – for their timely intervention to rescue the bus passengers.
