Police said that the passengers were travelling in the private travel bus from Hyderabad to Pondicherry. The driver of the bus noticed some technical snag in the bus and stopped on the road side.
The driver noticed flares erupting in the bus. He alerted the passengers who were asleep in the bus at the time. The driver got all the passengers alighted from the bus. Within minutes flames engulfed the bus. The bus was completely gutted in the fire.
Circle Inspector Ranghanth and Sub-inspector Venkateswera Rao rushed to the spot and regulated the traffic on the Chennai-Kolkata highway.
The police and transport officials heaved a sigh of relief as no one was hurt in the accident. However the luggage of the passengers was destroyed in the fire. (UNI)
