In a harrowing incident on Monday, more than 30 passengers had a narrow escape after a BEST bus caught fire in Marol, located in Mumbai's Andheri area. The bus, operating on route number 186, was hired by the civic-run transport undertaking from a private contractor on wet lease.
The fire broke out at approximately 10:45 am under Reliance Flyover, according to an official statement. The bus, which had departed from Agarkar Chowk in Andheri East for Vihar Lake in Powai, carried around 35 passengers, including some students.
According to bus driver Mohammad Hussain Shaikh, fire might have been caused by a short circuit.
Kamal Mishra
"Driver promptly asked the passengers to evacuate the bus and attempted to extinguish the flames using the two fire extinguishers onboard, but his efforts were in vain," said an official.
Despite the arrival of a policeman, who used an extinguisher from another vehicle, the fire could not be contained. The fire brigade was eventually contacted, but it took approximately 15 minutes for them to arrive at the scene with two fire tenders. By that time, the fire had engulfed the bus completely.
Kamal Mishra
Bus driver lauded for his bravery
According to a BEST official, the bus driver who has been driving to the airport for the past 11 years and for a private contractor hired by BEST for one-and-a-half years did a good job.
This unfortunate incident marks the fifth time a BEST bus has caught fire since the beginning of 2023 and the second incident since June 16. On June 16, another bus caught fire in the undertaking's Dharavi depot. In response to these incidents, in February, BEST had temporarily taken 400 wet leased buses off the roads after three fire-related incidents occurred in quick succession.
