Great escape for owner, son as bus catches fire

It happened all too suddenly. Thick, black smoke billowing from the bus engine, suddenly snowballed into a huge column of fire. Luckily for bus owner Naresh Naik, who was at the wheel, and his son Umesh, who was the only other person on board, it was a very close shave.

Naresh and Umesh have sustained minor injuries. As the bus cruised from Virar to Nalasopara, where they were on their way to get it repaired, the father-son duo suddenly felt something burning. Not too sure, they casually disembarked to check things out when the front portion of the 40-seater luxury bus went up in flames near Kanher in Virar around 10am on Sunday.

As the Naiks, a few bystanders at the spot and other motorists passing by watched, the flames engulfed the vehicle. Within minutes, the white bus had been reduced to a blackish grey, burnt frame.

A short circuit in the engine sparked the blaze, said chief of the fire brigade department, Bharat Gupta. "Had we not alighted in time, I shudder to think of what could have happened," said Umesh, adding that the fire brigade had come in too late.

His father, Naresh, said they were taking the bus for repairs to Nalasopara phata when they smelt something burning and also heard sputtering sounds but they weren't too sure of what was going on.

An official from Virar police station said that they had carried out a panchnama (spot inquiry) of the mishap site.

@ImranFazalDNA