BEST bus catches fire, none hurt

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) bus passengers had a narrow escape on Thursday when an engine of the public bus plying between Malwani and Mulund caught fire. Fortunately, all passengers were immediately evacuated resulting in zero casualties.

"The bus, route number 459, was plying between Malwani and Mulund, when it had reached Seepz, near the flyover, the bus engine got overheated around 11.15am. This led to minor fire to one of the components of the engine," said a BEST spokesperson. The bus was headed towards Mulund.

The rubber pipe caught fire emanating a lot of smoke. The presence of mind of driver and conductor meant in quick evacuation of the passengers in the bus.

Later, a fire engine from the Marol fire brigade doused the minor fire.

In the past there have been fire incidents in BEST buses, but they were mainly in the faulty King-Long air-conditioned buses. Once, in February 2013, there was leakage of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) from the bus when the bus had reached Andheri, resulting in evacuation of the bus passengers.