In a freak accident, an Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS) bus caught fire near the traffic signal at Nehrubridge on Ashram road.
The accident happened when two CNG-run buses collided with one another around 2.40 pm. According to fire officials, the buses were going towards RTO circle from Paldi and going bumper to bumper due to heavy traffic.
When the buses reached the traffic signal, the driver of the bus in front suddenly applied brakes to avoid hitting another vehicle. Since the distance between the two buses was too less, the second bus rammed into it from behind.
The impact ignited a spark in the second bus’s engine which immediately turned to flames leading to the CNG pipe in the fuel tank. There was a minor blast in the fuel tank which created panic among the passengers of both buses.
However, the fire was so big that it quickly spread to the whole bus within minutes, leaving very little time for passengers to escape. Though all the passengers of both buses managed to get out, four of them received minor burn injuries. They were immediately rushed to the VS hospital.
After receiving the call, fire officials rushed to the spot and started dousing the fire. In the accident, the CNG pipe of the first bus had also ruptured and gas was leaking from it.
It took the fire department about 20 minutes to control the fire. However, by then the whole bus was destroyed. Luckily, the fire had not spread to the first bus, which suffered damage only in the rear.
