The electric bus caught fire on the road connecting Veerannapalya and Hebbal Junction.
Credit: Video grab from BMTC
A BMTC electric bus attempting to navigate a waterlogged stretch in northeast Bengaluru caught fire on Monday night.
More than 12 people, including 10 passengers, escaped unharmed after the alert driver noticed the fire and swiftly evacuated everyone.
The electric bus, registered as KA 41 D 2679 and operating on route 500QA/9, caught fire around 10.40 pm on the road connecting Veerannapalya and Hebbal Junction, police reports said.
A BMTC statement revealed that while a thorough investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the fire, initial findings suggest an electrical short circuit was the likely trigger.
“The bus suddenly lost power when it approached Kempapura, prompting the driver and the conductor to inspect the bus. The driver, Dasharath, noticed smoke emanating from the bus and moved all the passengers out,” the statement said.
Moments after the evacuation, the bus was engulfed in flames. Fire tenders were quickly dispatched to the scene to extinguish the fire. No one was injured.
A senior officer from the Bengaluru's northeast traffic police told DH that the short circuit appeared to have originated in the battery, possibly caused by rainwater seeping in as the bus waded through water up to two feet deep.