Kanpur Sleeper Bus Catches Fire Mid-Journey
A major fire broke out in a moving sleeper bus on Friday morning while it was crossing the Ramadevi flyover in Kanpur's Chakeri police station area. The dramatic incident saw all 43 passengers safely evacuated thanks to the quick action of traffic police personnel stationed nearby.
Timely Rescue Prevents Tragedy
The bus, which was traveling from Delhi to Varanasi, had departed on Thursday night carrying passengers and their luggage. According to eyewitness accounts, the driver, Rishi Yadav, had loaded the luggage on the bus roof before departure. As the vehicle reached the Ramadevi flyover around Friday morning, the luggage caught fire under suspicious circumstances.
The flames quickly spread and engulfed the entire bus, creating a panic situation. The driver stopped the vehicle on the flyover and fled the scene immediately, abandoning the passengers. Fortunately, traffic police personnel who were present at a picket point on the flyover noticed the emergency and rushed to help.
Massive Firefighting Operation
Upon receiving alerts about the blaze, fire department officials dispatched half a dozen fire tenders to the location. The firefighters worked diligently for approximately one hour to completely extinguish the flames. The intense fire had turned the entire bus and luggage worth lakhs of rupees to ashes.
Rahul Nandan, officer from Jajmau fire station, confirmed that the cause of the fire is currently under investigation. He emphasized that despite the severity of the blaze, no casualties or injuries were reported among the passengers or crew.
The incident caused significant traffic disruption on the busy flyover as the burning bus blocked the lane. After the fire was brought under control, police teams worked to remove the charred remains of the vehicle from the roadway, eventually restoring normal traffic flow.
Investigation Underway
Authorities are investigating the exact cause of the fire, with preliminary reports suggesting the blaze started in the luggage compartment on the bus roof. The suspicious nature of the fire's origin and the driver's decision to flee the scene have raised several questions that investigators are now working to answer.
The successful evacuation of all passengers stands as a testament to the prompt response from Kanpur's traffic police and fire department, preventing what could have been a major tragedy on one of the city's important flyovers.
