Gurgaon city bus catches fire near Sirhaul; passengers evacuated safely

A Gurgaon city bus burst into flames near Sirhaul village on Thursday morning, but its passengers were evacuated before the fire spread through the vehicle.

The Route 215B bus was travelling from the Sector 12 bus stand to Dundahera when the driver noticed smoke near one of its tyres at about 9.30am. He stopped the bus and asked the five to 10 passengers aboard to get out. No one was injured.

Fire crews from Udyog Vihar and Maruti stations responded after receiving a call at 10.05am, deploying two fire tenders. The flames were contained within 30 to 40 minutes. The blaze briefly disrupted traffic on Old Delhi-Gurgaon Road until police managed the stretch and the burnt bus was removed.

Initial information points to the bursting of an air-suspension component near the tyre, though Gurgaon Metropolitan City Bus Limited said it will investigate the cause. The city currently operates about 150 buses, with 20 to 25 reportedly breaking down on an average day. Its board approved replacing 25 ageing vehicles with BS-VI-compliant CNG buses in July.