MIRACULOUS ESCAPE FOR 37 PASSENGERS AS PRIVATE BUS GUTS IN BLAZE NEAR RAMABHADRAPURAM

Vijayanagaram, March 21: A major tragedy was averted in the early hours of Saturday when a private travel bus caught fire and was completely reduced to ashes near Tarapuram in the Ramabhadrapuram mandal of Vijayanagaram district. All 37 passengers on board, including an Odisha legislator, escaped unhurt due to the swift presence of mind shown by the vehicle’s driver.

The incident occurred around 3:00 AM as the bus, belonging to Odisha Travels (some reports mention Orange Travels), was en route from Bhubaneswar to Malkangiri. According to police officials, the fire was triggered by a rear tyre burst. The friction from the explosion reportedly ignited sparks that quickly spread to the rest of the vehicle.

Upon noticing the smoke and flames, the driver, identified as Dasharath, immediately pulled the bus to the side of the road and raised an alarm, waking the sleeping passengers. “The driver acted heroically,” said Bobbili Rural Circle Inspector Srinivas. “He ensured every single person evacuated the vehicle before the flames engulfed the entire cabin.”

Among the passengers was Mangu Khilla, the Congress MLA from the Chitrakonda constituency in Odisha. He, along with the other passengers, managed to disembark safely just minutes before the bus became a charred shell. While no lives were lost, many passengers unfortunately lost their luggage and personal belongings to the fast-moving blaze.

Fire services from the nearby stations rushed to the spot and battled the flames for nearly an hour to bring the situation under control. Local police arrived shortly after to assist the stranded passengers and coordinated with the travel agency to arrange an alternative bus to carry them to their final destination in Malkangiri.

The Ramabhadrapuram police have registered a case and initiated a technical investigation to confirm if a short circuit or the tyre burst was the primary cause of the fire.