Jhansi: Around 20 passengers, including women and children, had a miraculous escape after a sleeper coach travelling from Kanpur to Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh caught fire shortly after midnight on Sunday. Within minutes, the bus was reduced to ashes, leaving behind only its charred iron frame and traumatised survivors.The incident occurred around 2 am when the sleeper coach operated by private bus service Shatabdi Travels reached Jhansi. According to conductor Kamlesh Kumar, the trouble began when the bus hit a speed breaker near the Pahuj River bridge and suddenly all the lights went out. The driver then asked him to inspect the battery box located beneath the vehicle.As Kamlesh checked the battery section, he noticed smoke billowing from beneath the driver’s seat. He immediately raised an alarm, following which the driver and cleaner rushed to evacuate the passengers.The flames spread rapidly through the bus and soon engulfed the entire vehicle. Fortunately, by then all passengers had been safely evacuated through the main gate and emergency window. Firefighters arrived at the scene with three fire tenders and doused the blaze after a lengthy operation.However, most passengers lost their luggage and belongings kept in the rear storage compartment of the bus.Chief fire officer Raj Kishore Rai said preliminary investigation suggested that an internal short circuit may have triggered the fire, which was intensified due to the bus’s upholstery and a small LPG cylinder being carried inside the vehicle that later exploded.“Safety norms must be strictly followed. Conductors should not allow inflammable items inside buses. Also, the bus had only one gate, which could have proved dangerous. The passengers were fortunate to escape unharmed,” Rai said.
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