Luggage stored on top of a moving sleeper bus caught fire on the Ramadevi flyover under Chakeri police station area in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur on Friday morning, November 28. Alert traffic police personnel on duty at the flyover responded quickly and rescued all passengers.
All passengers were asleep at the time of the incident; however, they were rescued safely. At least six fire engines reached the spot and brought the blaze under control. The incident also caused a traffic jam on the flyover. Passengers’ belongings worth several lakhs of rupees, including cash, were destroyed in the blaze.
Passengers said the sleeper bus belonging to Varanasi-based Palak Travels had departed from Delhi for Varanasi on Thursday night. There were around 43 passengers on board. As the bus reached the Ramadevi flyover, the luggage caught fire under suspicious circumstances.
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Seeing the flames, driver Rishi Yadav stopped the bus and fled. Meanwhile, traffic police personnel stationed at the spot about 70 metres away rushed to the bus and evacuated the passengers. Within minutes, the entire vehicle was engulfed in flames.
Chakeri police arrived along with multiple fire engines. After about an hour of effort, the fire was extinguished, but the bus and the passengers’ belongings were completely gutted.