Bus driver saves passengers from blaze

Bengaluru: A Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) driver helped the passengers on board have a miracuous escape after he spotted smoke coming out from the engine through his rear view mirror while he driving on the ITI flyover in K.R. Puram on Wednesday morning.

Reportedly, the bus caught flames after the passengers were evacuated to safety.

The incident occurred around 5 a.m. when the sleeper coach bus was heading to Majestic from Tirupati via K.R. Puram.

“When I saw the smoke, I stopped the bus to see what had happened. On a closer look, I saw that the engine was on fire,” said the bus driver Kumaraswamy.

“I also alerted fire emergency personnel and the police. Passenger thanked me for helping them to get off the bus before it was engulfed in flames,” he added.

The K.R. Puram police arrived at the spot to manage traffic movement while fire tenders doused the blaze. “The fire was contained, but the bus was gutted,” a senior police officer said.

A preliminary investigation pointed to a technical problem in the engine.