IDUKKI: A man was charred to death as the bus in which he was sleeping in caught fire in Kumily near here in the wee hours of Monday.
Rajan, who was working as the cleaner of the private bus was sleeping inside the bus, which was parked near a petrol bunk in Kumily town.
As per the eyewitnesses, the incident happened around 2 am on Monday. Rajan, the deceased, is a native of Uppukulam in Idukki. The private bus was operating regular service on the Kottayam - Kumily route.
Workers of the other buses said that they thought Rajan might have gone home after duty.
When the bus was ablaze, workers sleeping in the vehicles parked nearby alerted the fire force. With their help, the firefighters doused the flames before it spread to the petrol bunk, and averted a tragedy.
However, nobody was aware that Rajan was sleeping in the ill-fated bus.
Thee rescue workers spotted Rajan's charred body only after the fire was doused.
A preliminary investigation by the police revealed that the bus caught fire due to a short circuit. The investigation is on. Rajan's body has been shifted to a hospital in Kumily.