DHENKANAL: Around 50 passengers had a close shave when the bus they were travelling in caught fire on National Highway-55 on Friday.
Sources said the bus was en route to Bhubaneswar from Angul when the driver noticed fire emanating from the vehicle near the bypass road. Soon after, passengers were alerted and asked to vacate the bus.
On being informed, fire tenders from Dhenkanal reached the spot and began dousing the blaze but by that time, the bus was completely burnt. Police reached the spot and launched an investigation.
Additional SP Suryamani Pradhan said it is likely the tyres got burnt due to excessive heat leading to the mishap. “Though the vehicle was reduced to ashes, no one was hurt in the incident. Traffic was disrupted on the route for some time but normalcy was restores after police intervention,” he said.