CHENNAI: A private sleeper bus traveling from Chennai to Madurai caught fire on the national highway near Perambalur in the early hours of Saturday. All 23 passengers on board escaped unhurt after evacuating the vehicle minutes before the flames fully engulfed the bus.The private bus had departed from Chennai heading to Madurai around midnight. The sleeper bus was carrying 23 passengers. The driver was Ibrahim, 63, from Melur in Madurai district. The vehicle, which plies via Perambalur and Trichy, was traveling along the Chennai-Trichy National Highway.Around 5:30 a.m., while passing by a village named Ayan Peraiyur near Mangalamedu in Perambalur district, smoke suddenly started emanating from the front of the bus.Driver Ibrahim spotted the smoke and immediately stopped the bus on the roadside. Realizing the danger, he woke the sleeping passengers and asked them to get down quickly. The shocked passengers picked up whatever belongings they could and rushed out of the bus.As the passengers were disembarking, flames spread rapidly from the front. The entire bus was soon consumed by intense flames.Mangalamedu police and highway patrol officers rushed to the location after being informed. They alerted fire stations in Veppur and Perambalur. By the time firefighters arrived, the bus was fully engulfed in fire.About 15 firefighters used water to stop the fire from spreading and brought it under control by 7 a.m. The bus was completely destroyed and reduced to its skeletal remains.Traffic was disrupted since vehicles could not pass the area. Police cleared the blockage by diverting traffic to the opposite lane a short distance away. The bus was removed from the highway using earthmovers around 7 a.m.Authorities also assisted in arranging alternative transport for the passengers. The passengers gathered their belongings and continued toward their destinations.The sudden fire that engulfed the private bus on the highway created panic in the area. Mangalamedu police have registered a case and are investigating the incident.
