Ranchi: A luxury coach, bound for the state capital from Patna in Bihar, caught fire on NH-33 around 45km from its destination on Sunday morning, but a quick-thinking conductor saved the day by evacuating all the 45 passengers on board, including four children, in time.

Police suspect an overheated tyre triggered a spark that reached the fuel tank, resulting in the blaze that charred the Volvo bus owned by private firm Gaurav Luxury, which once operated under the Bihar State Road Transport Corporation (BSRTC).

According to eyewitnesses, the mishap took place on the Ranchi-Ramgarh stretch of NH-33 around 7.15am.

"As the bus reached Patel Chowk, 8km from (Ramgarh) town, a left rear tyre went flat. The conductor asked the driver to stop and went out to check the damage. He saw the tyre burning and grabbed a bottle of water from a roadside dhaba to douse the flames, but that did not help," said a Ramgarh resident.

Once the conductor, who is yet to be identified, realised that the fire was billowing out of control, he asked passengers to get off the bus. Within 10 minutes, all the passengers had left the bus and the last piece of luggage had also been taken out of the luggage trunk.

"Soon after the passengers got off, the AC bus went up in flames. It was charred to a skeleton within an hour. The fire brigade reached around 8.15am," said a bystander.

Ramgarh SP Kishore Kaushal said police reached the spot within half an hour and arranged for another bus to take the stranded passengers to Ranchi.

"We suspect a rear tyre caused the fire because it was overheated and also close to the fuel tank. The Volvo bus was charred, but the passengers were lucky. Firemen will probe the incident," he added.

No official of Gaurav Luxury, said to be a leading bus service provider in Patna, could be contacted at the telephone number found on the transport agency's official website.

Sources in the state transport circuit claimed the private firm ran its interstate Volvo and Mercedes Benz fleet of buses on behalf of BSRTC. The luxury coaches are also hired by industries, institutions, public sector undertakings and private factories.

The Bihar transport department, however, said that the contract with Gaurav Luxury had been terminated six months ago.

"We had a bus service agreement with the agency, but it defaulted on revenue. The contract was declared null and void around six months ago," said joint secretary (transport) Ram Kishore Mishra.

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