• Vehicle was carrying people for a wedding in Mysuru city; luggage, cash, gold gutted
• Anxious moments on the Highway as thick smoke billowed out from burning bus

Srirangapatna: A major tragedy was averted this morning after a private bus caught fire near Srirangapatna on the Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway. No one was injured in the incident though the valuables and luggage they were carrying were destroyed.

The private passenger bus was heading from Bengaluru to Mysuru and over 30 passengers including women and children were going to a wedding in Mysuru city. As the bus reached Gananguru, metres behind the Expressway Toll Plaza at around 11.30 am, it caught fire due to a snag in the air-conditioning system of the bus.

Due to unbearable heat, the AC was at the maximum and the bus too was cruising ahead in speed. The fire was noticed by alert passengers while many of their friends inside the moving vehicle were asleep. By the time the fire was noticed, smoke had already entered the interiors of the bus.

The bus driver was immediately alerted and the passengers alighted in quick succession. Within moments, the fire engulfed the entire bus and even the diesel tank exploded. Soon, the bus engine in the rear side also caught fire. Thick smoke was billowing out from the vehicle and it caused anxious moments. What remained finally was the skeleton and metal parts of the bus.

As the passengers got down in a hurry to save their lives, they could not take their valuables like cash, wedding jewellery and luggage that were stacked up on the upper portion of the bus. However, they could retrieve half-burnt bags containing clothes from the bottom compartments at the rear end of the vehicle. Even those were damaged. 

Other travellers on the road rushed to the rescue of the passengers and the Fire and Emergency Services Department at Srirangapatna was informed. Fire tenders rushed to the spot and doused the flames. Further details like the exact cause of the fire and the total estimated value of loss is yet to be known. Srirangapatna Town Police have registered a case.