MYSURU: A ‘Power Plus’ electrical (EV) bus belonging to the KSRTC caught fire due to brake jam, and 16 passengers in the bus escaped unhurt due to the driver’s presence of mind. The incident took place near Rangayanakoppalu near Bilikere on the Mysuru-Hunsur main road on Saturday.
The bus was on its way to Mysuru from Virajpet in Kodagu district via Gonikoppa and Hunsur. It was approaching Rangayanakoppalu in Bilikere hobli at around 5.15 pm when the brake of the rear right wheel jammed.
Due to this, the rear tire heated up and caught fire. Driver Ramachandraiah, who was aware of the fire in the fast-moving bus, immediately stopped the bus on the side of the road and instructed the passengers to get off.
After all the passengers got down safely, they informed the fire station. They also opened the engine cabin door at the back of the bus and tried to put out the fire by pouring water on the burning tire.
However,due to the strong wind,the fire spread to the battery and burned even faster.
After igniting the battery, the fire engulfed the bus in a matter of moments and completely burnt it down. The bus was completely burnt out before two fire brigade vehicles arrived and started the firefighting operation.
Since the place where the EV bus caught fire was a narrow road, there was a traffic jam for some time.As the fire was raging, all vehicles plying on that road were stopped due to the possibility of battery explosion.
Traffic resumed after the fire brigade arrived and extinguished the fire. HT Veeresh, Divisional Controller of the Rural Division of the KSRTC,T M Puneeth, Circle Inspector of Bilikere Police Station,Sub-Inspector Naveen and others visited the spot and inspected it. All the passengers were sent safely in another bus, Veeresh said.