NBSTC bus catches fire, all 18 passengers safe

SNS, Kalimpong 16 February 2018: A bus belonging to North Bengal Transport Corporation (NBSTC) caught fire at sixth Mile near Gandhi Ashram School in Kalimpong today. However, all the 18 passengers travelling in the bus (WB 63 9332) and the bus staff were unhurt in the fire that is being blamed on a short circuit.

"I was driving and stopped the car at 3rd Mile for some passengers who wanted to answer nature's call. We then continued the journey, and the vehicle had no problem. However, I later saw fire just  just behind my seat as I looked at the rear view mirror when we reached Sith Mile.I immediately stopped the bus and asked the passengers to get down without panicking," said Hemant Pradhan, the driver of the bus that was headed for Kalimpong from Siliguri. Mr Pradhan said he tried to douse the flames with the help of the fire extinguisher he had in the bus, but to no avail. He later called the fire brigade and also informed the police, but by the time fire brigade arrived, the bus was 50 percent burnt.

"It was a mechanical glitch and no one is to be blamed for this. None of the passengers were injured, while one of them however, lost

goods worth Rs 2 lakh," said Sanchin Khati, the NBSTC bus depot in-charge in Kalimpong.