Gadchiroli: A speeding bus caught fire at a distance of 2 km from Nikatwada village near Ghot in Chamarshi taluka. The incident took place in the forest between Mulchera and Ghot at 6 am on Friday on March 1. All the passengers of the bus were safely evacuated due to the intervention of the driver-conductor.
The bus number M.H. 07C9316 of Gadchiroli Depot was scheduled to stop at Mulchera on Thursday. The bus left Mulchera at 6 am on Friday via Ghot-Chamorshi-Bhadbhidi for Gadchiroli. The driver and conductor alerted the passengers as the bus suddenly caught fire in the forest, 3 km from Ghot. All eight passengers of the bus then alighted.
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Driver Pradeep Madavi and conductor Lokesh Bhandekar checked and found that the fire broke out due to a short circuit in the battery. Meanwhile, the driver and conductor doused the fire by holding tree branches in their hands. New buses were not available at the two depots of Gadchiroli and Aheri. Passenger traffic in the district is being carried on the same old buses. As a result, there are often incidents of buses stopping on the road, malfunctioning, catching fire.