Metro bus catches fire, no casualties

RAWALPINDI:

A metro bus with passengers aboard caught fire near the Rehmanabad stop on Wednesday afternoon. The driver, watching the flames leap out of engine, pulled the bus over and opened the doors so that passengers could disembark to safety. Hence, no casualties were reported. A squad of Rescue 1122 firefighters rushed to the site and doused the flames while the metro bus service remained suspended for around half an hour. The damaged bus was lifted from the track using a crane and shifted to the Metro Bus Service workshop for repairs. A Rescue 1122 spokesperson said that the vehicle’s engine had caught fire and passengers immediately got off the vehicle. The Express Tribune obtained the footage of the incident in which white smoke could be seen billowing from the bus with the vehicle motionless on the track and passengers streaming out. After the vehicle was removed from the track with a crane, the passengers were shifted to another bus which dropped them off to their respective destinations. Metro Bus Authority (MBA) officials said they will probe the fire incident and take strict action if it was caused by human error.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2020.