Mon Oct 28 13:57:59 UTC 2024: Updated – October 28, 2024 07:31 pm IST – KOCHIIn the latest in a row of safety-related accidents involving KSRTC buses, a low-floor AC bus operated by the agency caught fire shortly after it left the Ernakulam bus depot for Thodupuzha, on Chitoor Road here around 3 p.m. on Monday (October 28).There were over 20 passengers onboard when the driver noticed fumes emanating from the engine at the rear of the bus. This was after an inbuilt smoke/fire-detection system in the bus triggered an alarm, as the vehicle was passing through Iyyattumukku on Chitoor Road.
The driver immediately stopped the bus and, along with the conductor, safely evacuated all the passengers. The crew then used onboard fire extinguishers and additional ones from a nearby shop to help control the flames. Fire and Rescue Service personnel arrived shortly after and fully extinguished the fire. By then, six rows of rear seats and the roof of the bus had sustained damage. The fire could have posed a significant risk to other motorists, pedestrians, and nearby shop occupants if it had happened during the evening rush hour.KSRTC officials were unavailable for comment, but sources in the Motor Vehicles department (MVD) expressed alarm over the recent spate of safety incidents, including fires, wheel detachments from moving buses, and long-distance buses colliding with medians. These point to slack maintenance, supervision, and the need to replace the largely ageing fleet of buses with new ones, they said.
Almost half of the agency’s fleet of AC low-floor Volvo buses had to be sold as scrap due to slack upkeep, while the rest are maintained in KSRTC workshops which are ill-equipped to handle such buses, it is learnt.Expressing concern at frequent safety-related incidents involving KSRTC buses, Ernakulam MLA T.J. Vinod, who visited the site where the bus caught fire, shot off a letter to Transport Minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar demanding a safety audit of all buses owned by the agency. He also demanded stern action against officials and staff who ought to have maintained the buses in safe condition.
Published – October 28, 2024 07:27 pm ISTCopyright© 2024, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
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