MUMBAI: Passengers of a bus heading from Rajasthan had a narrow escape after the vehicle caught fire on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway on Thursday morning, officials said.
All passengers aboard the private sleeper coach bus managed to evacuate safely in time, they said, adding that no casualties were reported.
The incident occurred near Panvel at 7.20 am when the bus was carrying passengers from Udaipur to Pune, the police said.
According to preliminary information, the fire broke out due to a technical snag in the vehicle's air conditioning (AC) system, they said.
The incident occurred on the Pune-bound lane of the expressway within the jurisdiction of the Rasayani Police Station.
Upon receiving information, local fire brigade and rescue teams of other agencies rushed to the spot. The blaze was later extinguished.
Firefighting teams from both the Panvel Municipal Corporation and the Khopoli Municipal Council were also pressed into service to assist in the operations, the police added.