Team Herald
PONDA: Thirty nine passengers onboard a Kerala bound bus had a narrow escape as it caught fire at Banastarim, on Friday.
The passengers from Kerala, who had arrived in the State four days back on a tour, were returning home when the bus caught fire.
According to the fire service officials, when the Volvo bus reached at Old Goa, smoke stated emitting from the engine but the driver failed to notice and when reached at Banastarim at around 5.30 pm, the bus suddenly started burning. Followingly, the driver immediately stopped the bus and vacated the passengers to safety as the bus engulfed in flames.
The traffic on the national highway was halted for some time after the horrific fire incident. The two fire tenders from Old Goa and Ponda were pressed in to douse of the fire. The cause of fire is not known yet.
It is learnt from the fire service sources that the bus owner has suffered a loss of around Rs 40 lakh.