Alert bus driver saves lives as TSRTC bus catches fire on ORR at Pedda Amberpet

Hyderabad: A TSRTC bus driver’s timely response helped to save passengers after the TSRTC bus caught fire on Thursday night near Brundhavan Hotel on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) in Pedda Amberpet. The incident occurred around 11:15 pm when the Rajdhani AC bus was en route from Hyderabad to Guntur with 11 passengers.

The driver, Balakrishna, quickly acted upon noticing the fire and alerted the passengers. This helped prevent any loss of life or injuries. Speaking to NewsMeter, Balakrishna, who has been with the RTC since 2012, said that he noticed the smell of smoke and saw flames coming from the bottom of the bus. We immediately informed the passengers and they got down in time. He said he tried to douse the flames by pouring water from a water bottle.

“We quickly asked all the passengers to get down. They were evacuated from the bus without any injuries. Despite our efforts to douse the fire, it soon spread throughout the bus.” Balakrishna, with the help of onlookers, tried to extinguish the fire using water pipes. The fire was eventually extinguished by firefighters. However, the bus was completely destroyed in the fire.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but officials believe it may have been caused by a short circuit or AC problem. Balakrishna said, “I informed the BHEL depot and a replacement bus was arranged for the transport of the passengers.”