A video of the Mumbai Metro is viral on social media. In the video, the passengers are seen coughing, feeling suffocated, and covering their noses and mouths as smoke is entering the metro. The incident happened at Devipada Metro Station on Tuesday. A bus had caught fire near the metro station on the Western Express Highway. When the metro stopped at the station for passengers to alight and board the train, smoke entered, and passengers found it difficult to breathe. The Free Press Journal’s report states that the bus was empty when it suddenly caught fire on the road. The metro staff and firefighters took immediate action to control the fire. No casualties were reported in this incident. However, smoke from the fire went upwards, causing a lot of difficulty for the metro commuters.
A 50-second video posted by user Yogesh Namjoshi on the social media site X (previously Twitter) depicts a metro coach engulfed in dense smoke while passengers gasped and felt smothered. As shown in the video, the majority of passengers had covered their faces with handkerchiefs, masks, and with whatever means they could to prevent inhaling smoke, which was so dense that it impairs vision inside the coach. He captioned the post, “Faced a very serious emergency situation on #MumbaiMetro #redline at #devipada station #Borivali . There was a huge fire outside metro station as a private bus had was on fire , despite that metro stopped at devipada station n doors were opened.” He also tagged Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
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Responding to this incident, the Maha Mumbai Metro Operations wrote, “We regret the inconvenience caused to our valued passengers. A private bus on the road below Devipada station caught fire today in the Afternoon. Metro staff & fire brigade responded swiftly and brought the situation under control. Due to the station’s open design, smoke briefly reached the platform and entered one coach when the doors opened. The situation was promptly managed at the next station. There was no fire or hazard inside the train. Metro services continued safely and uninterrupted. We thank commuters for their patience and understanding.— Maha Mumbai Metro Operations.”