Amritsar-bound HRTC bus gutted in fire after tyre burst

Amritsar, June 3

Around 20 passengers of a Himachal Pradesh Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus had a narrow escape when it suddenly caught fire near Khalchian on the Jalandhar-Amritsar road today.

The incident occurred when a tyre of the bus burst and the bus hit a roadside railing near Beas. The bus was coming from Hamirpur. Around 20 passengers, who were in the bus at that time, managed to jump out before the bus was completely engulfed in flames.

Amritsar SSP Satinder Singh said no loss of life was reported. Two fire tenders from Jandiala Guru were immediately rushed to the spot to douse the fire. The incident led to the traffic chaos on the road.

Driver of the bus Kashmir Chander, a resident of Budher village in Hamirpur, said he along with conductor Sunil Kumar started the journey for Amritsar around 10.30am. He said they were to reach Amritsar around 5.50pm. He said when they crossed Beas suddenly a front tyre of the bus burst. The bus collided with a roadside railing and caught fire. This led to panic among the passengers who broke the window panes and jumped out. Within no time the fire spread and the entire bus was gutted.

Sawinderpal Singh, DSP, Baba Bakala, said the cops along with the fire brigade reached the spot in time. The traffic was also cleared from the spot. He said the luggage of the passengers was gutted in the fire.