Passengers of a private bus had a narrow escape when the vehicle suddenly caught fire near Chagalu village of Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh in the early hours today, police said.
The bus, with 38 passengers on board, was on its way to Hyderabad from Chennai. The incident occurred around 2 AM under Ulavapadu police station limits.
"A woman passenger, who was speaking on her cell phone at the time of the incident, noticed flames at the rear side of the bus. She alerted other passengers and the driver, who immediately stopped the bus, and the occupants including the driver and the co-driver moved out to safety, Kandukur DSP Ajay Prasad told PTI over phone.
The bus belonged to a Chennai-based private travel company.
"The bus got completely burnt. However, no one was injured in the incident," the senior police officer said.
The Forensic and Clues team officials collected the samples from the scene and the cause of the fire will be known after they submit a report.
Some of the luggage kept on the lower-side of the bus caught fire in the incident and a newly-wed woman lodged a complaint claiming that she lost her gold ornaments, the DSP said.
Andhra Pradesh Transport Minister Sidda Raghava Rao, Prakasam District Collector Vijay Kumar and District Superintendent of Police Ch Srikant were among those who visited the spot.
In a similar incident on January 19, forty five passengers of a Volvo bus had a lucky escape after it caught fire in Medak district of Telangana.
