Alert driver saves passengers as bus catches fire

Presence of mind displayed by the driver of a Maharashtra state transport bus put 46 passengers out of danger when the vehicle caught fire while negotiating the stiff Dive ghat section, police said today.
The bus, on way to temple town of Pandharpur from Pune, was filled with thick smoke as a wire short-circuited during the steep climb last night.
The driver and conductor, sensing the possible danger, immediately off-loaded all passengers who saw the bus catching fire and getting reduced to ashes within minutes.
Fire tenders arrived on the spot from Hadapsar and Saswad on the other side of the Dive ghat after half-an-hour, but by that time the vehicle had been totally burnt, police said, adding that all bus passengers were safe.