'Short circuit led to bus fire incident at Una'

An HRTC bus of Hamirpur depot that caught fire near Una bus stand here two days ago was an incident of "short circuit", state transport minister G S Bali said today.
"It was found in the investigation report that a passenger had placed his luggage on the battery cut-off switch behind the driver's seat.
"When the passenger pulled up the bag, the switch sparked and bag caught fire which came in direct contact with the floor of the bus leading to the short circuit and fire spread to the seats and roof of the bus," Bali said.
The Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus on its way to Chandigarh from Hamirpur caught fire near the gate of Una Bus stand on November 26. As many as 15 passengers traveling in the bus had a miraculous escape.

The transport minister further informed that the TATA bus model of 2011 had covered around 4.5 lakh kilometers and all vital parts of the bus including engine and gear box were safe.
Vivek Lakhanpal, Regional Manager, Una visited the spot and monitored the rescue operations.