Bus With 32 Passengers Catches Fire In Haridwar; All Safely Evacuated

Haridwar: A passenger bus travelling from Uttarakhand to Rajasthan suddenly caught fire late Tuesday night in the Bahadrabad police station area of Haridwar, police said. All 32 passengers, including two female foreign nationals, were safely evacuated before the fire engulfed the bus.

Police said the Volvo bus was on its way from Rishikesh to Jaipur when the fire was noticed by some passengers around midnight along the highway near Badheri Rajputana village. The driver immediately halted the bus, and with the conductor's help, took all passengers out.

Personnel from Bahadrabad police station and firefighters rushed to the spot for relief and rescue operations. Though the fire was brought under control after some time, the bus was completely gutted. The accident led to a traffic congestion on both stretches of the highway, which was normalised after the damaged bus was pulled to the roadside.

Bahadrabad police station in-charge Amarjeet Singh said all 32 passengers were safely evacuated in the nick of time. "An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway. Preliminary findings suggest that it may have been triggered by a short circuit or a technical malfunction. Alternative arrangements were made to transport passengers to their respective destinations," he added.

The Brazilian nationals were taken to the local police station for safety, and necessary arrangements were made to send them to their destination. The women expressed their gratitude to Uttarakhand police for their promptness in the rescue operation.

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