Kerala - Kozhikode   

Moving bus catches fire; passengers escape unhurt

Staff Reporter

IN FLAMES: A private bus that caught fire at the busy Arayadathupalam jucntion in Kozhikode on Thursday.

KOZHIKODE: A running private bus with over 50 passengers caught fire at the busy Aryadathupalam junction here at 12.30 p.m. on Thursday. No casualties have been reported. The bus was proceeding to Sulthan Bathery in Wayanad from the Kozhikode Mofussil bus station.

All the passengers and the bus crew had got down from the vehicle before it went up in flames. The fire destroyed the bus in less than 15 minutes. Passengers said that the fire broke out from a particular spot inside the bus. A major tragedy had been averted because of the presence of mind of the bus workers and passengers.

However, the incident created panic in the city. The people fled from the site of the incident. Vehicles from the Mavoor Road and the Bypass Road were blocked at the junction. Many abandoned their vehicles and escaped from the area.

This led to a major problem with the police and the fire fighters getting delayed to reach the site of the accident. By the time, the cops and fire tenders reached the spot, only the skeletal remains of the vehicle remained at the junction. Three groups of fire fighters attached to the Fire Station on the beach extinguished the fire.

Assistant Divisional Officer K. Marakarkutty led these units. Kozhikode City Police Commissioner H. Venkatesh cleared the traffic congestion. The vehicle was later dragged to the Kalipoika Bypass.

Mr. Venkatesh said that forensic experts from Wayanad and Kannur districts had been asked to inspect the gutted bus and ascertain the exact cause of the fire. " We are checking all possibilities whether the incident was just a mishap, a sabotage or a short circuit. Details are also being taken from the bus workers, '' he said.

Meanwhile, the porters of the Mofussil bus station said that they had only loaded just wiring pipes, auto parts, two cartons of books and a box of chappels at the luggage portion on top of the bus.

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