Bus catches fire on Mumbai-Goa highway, narrow escape for 44 passengers      

As many as 44 passengers travelling in a private luxury bus had a narrow escape after the vehicle caught fire on Mumbai-Goa highway in Maharashtra's Raigad district in the wee hours of Sunday, police said.

The incident occurred near Kashedi tunnel in Poladpur area around 2 am, an official said.

The bus driver's alertness led to the passengers alighting to safety quickly as he sensed something wrong after one of the tyres burst, he said.

The bus, carrying 44 passengers, was on way from Mumbai to Malvan in Sindhudurg district.

Before the Kashedi tunnel, a tyre burst and it caught fire, following which the bus driver applied emergency brakes and asked all the passengers to get down, the official said.

By the time the passengers alighted, the fire spread to other parts of the bus, he said.

After being alerted, the police and fire brigade rushed to the spot and cordoned off the road by stopping traffic on both sides of the highway.

In the meantime, a blast occurred in the bus diesel tank, but the passengers had alighted to a safe location by then and no harm was caused to anybody, the official said.

Fire brigade personnel doused the blaze by 3 am and vehicular movement later resumed, he said.

A case was registered in connection with the incident at Poladpur police station and a probe was under way into it, the police added.