COIMBATORE: A private electric bus travelling from Trichy to Coimbatore caught fire after colliding with a road divider near Karumathampatti, on the outskirts of the city, early on Sunday morning.
In the incident, 26 passengers sustained injuries and were subsequently admitted to various hospitals, both public and private, in the Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts. The mishap occurred after the driver reportedly fell asleep while at the wheel.
Two lorry drivers who happened to be passing by broke the bus windows and rescued all passengers on board. Following the accident, Karumathampatti police registered a case and launched an investigation.
According to police sources, the bus was travelling from Trichy and, after reaching Tiruppur via the Coimbatore–Avinashi Road, was heading towards Coimbatore with 26 passengers on board. The vehicle was driven by A Pasupathi (29) from Tiruvannamalai, accompanied by his attendant B Abishek (21) from Madurai district.
At around 2.30 a.m. on Sunday, near the Senniandavar temple in Karumathampatti, the driver reportedly dozed off at the wheel and lost control of the vehicle.
The bus collided with the central divider and continued grinding against it for over 100 metres before halting and bursting into flames. The passengers, who were asleep at the time, woke up in shock and began shouting as they scrambled to escape through the front door.
Lorry drivers who witnessed the accident stopped their vehicles, alerted the police, and began rescuing passengers by breaking the bus windows. “Apart from the driver and the assistant, all 26 passengers were rescued with minor burn injuries,” a police source said.
Following this, fire service vehicles, ambulances, and police personnel reached the spot. The injured were taken to the Avinashi Government Hospital, a private hospital, and the Government Coimbatore Medical College Hospital for treatment.
The bus, being an electric vehicle, was completely gutted in the blaze. The lorry drivers, identified as C Sabaraimalai (29) and M Ramesh (29) of Virudhunagar district, were appreciated by the Karumathampatti police for their timely intervention and heroic rescue of the passengers.