A Shivshahi luxury bus caught fire near the Talegaon toll post on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway on Sunday. No casualties were reported in the incident. The Shivshahi bus of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) was taking passengers from Swargate depot in Pune city to Kalyan when the incident happened. There were 12 passengers in the bus. Around 8.15 am, the rear side of the bus caught fire. A person travelling in a private vehicle coming from behind saw the fire and informed the bus driver. The bus driver immediately stopped the bus and the passengers were evacuated. After receiving information, fire brigade teams of the IRB and Talegaon MIDC fire station reached the spot. “The fire was brought under control in a few minutes. However, the entire bus was damaged. Even though the passengers had stepped out, some of them had left their belongings inside the bus which were gutted,” said D P Dorugade, fire officer of Talegaon MIDC fire station. The reason behind fire was yet to ascertained and the fire officer said that like heating of drum brakes or battery short circuit might have led to the accident. The incident disrupted the traffic on the expressway for some time. The damaged bus was shifted from the spot using crane service.
