KOCHI: A moving KSRTC low-floor bus was gutted after its engine caught fire at Ezhattumukku on Chittoor Road in Kochi on Monday evening. Due to the timely intervention of the bus driver and conductor, no passenger was injured. All 30 passengers were evacuated before the fire engulfed the bus.
It was around 3pm that the AC low-floor bus, plying on the Kochi-Muvattupuzha route, departed from Ernakulam KSRTC bus station. “Just five minutes after departure, the passengers smelled smoke from the air conditioner vents of the bus.
Smoke billowed from the rear side of the bus, which was spotted by a motorcyclist following the bus. He immediately alerted the bus driver about the fire near the engine of the bus. The driver brought the bus to a halt, allowing the passengers to evacuate before the vehicles went up in flames. There were around 30 passengers in the bus and 15 persons had already purchased tickets,” a KSRTC official said.
Two fire tenders from Club Road and Gandhi Nagar fire stations reached the place and began operations to douse the fire and prevent it from spreading to houses and shops nearby. Since the bus was parked near an electric post, KSEB officials disconnected power to the electric line.
Meanwhile, police blocked the traffic on Chittoor Road and diverted vehicles via other byroads. By around 3.40pm the fire was completely doused. The bus was later shifted to the KSRTC yard in Kochi.
KSRTC Assistant Transport Officer (ATO) Tony Koshy Alex said, “The bus was added to the KSRTC fleet around 10 years back. A hazard alert was shown on the dashboard of the bus when the fire began. The bus belonged to Muvattupuzha depot. We scanned the error code shown on the bus. But there were no other major issues.
As the fire started at the rear end of the bus, we suspect that it could have spread from the engine. However, a detailed examination is required to find the exact reason for the fire. The bus was operated after completing a regular service. Currently, there are around 12 similar low-floor buses manufactured by Volvo, conducting services in the district. We also have used these buses for long-distance service, including between Ernakulam and Bengaluru on some occasions,” he said.
The air-conditioned low-floor buses were allocated by the Union government under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) project to the civic bodies. To operate these buses, KSRTC had offered a separate wing named Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation (KURTC).
Over 30 buses allocated to the Ernakulam district have been lying non-operational at Thevara depot due to its high maintenance cost.