Nellore: Passengers of a private bus had a narrow escape from death when the bus caught fire and gutted completely near Timmarajupalem village in Parchur mandal of Prakasam district during the early hours of Thursday.
Though the luggage of the passengers was destroyed in the fire, the eight of them and a child travelling in the bus escaped by jumping out of the bus. This was thanks to the driver of the bus, who alerted the passengers in deep sleep soon after noticing the fire emanating from the gear rod and spreading fast.
The driver sounded an alarm after his attempt to put off the fire with a blanket failed to yield any results.
According to police, the mishap took place when the sleeper coach bus belonging to Orange Travels was on its way to Bapatla via Chirala with 20 passengers from Patancheru in Hyderabad. There were eight passengers and a child when the bus left Chilakaluripeta for its final journey to Bapatla. Among the travellers, six persons belong to two families.
Officials heaved a sigh of relief as all the passengers and three crew members escaped unhurt in the ghastly incident. Assistant sub inspector Abdul Kareem said they have booked a case based on a complaint from the Village Revenue Officer and are investigating the incident.
