A BEST bus on wet lease from a private operator was gutted in a fire in Ghatkopar in Mumbai on Monday, officials said.
The conductor of the bus suffered minor injuries to the hand while all the passengers were safe, Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking public relations officer Sudas Samant said.
"The bus, which belongs to Dharavi depot, was plying on route 303 from Bandra station east to Mulund east. It caught fire at Gandhi Nagar junction at 1:30pm during a short trip to Ghatkopar. The fire took place when the passengers had alighted at the end of the trip and the bus was making a U-turn to depart for Bandra east," Samant said.
"The driver noticed black smoke emanating from the engine and took the bus to the side of the road but by then the fire had spread. The conductor received minor burn wounds on the hand. By the time the fire brigade doused the blaze, the vehicle was gutted. The cause of the fire is not yet known," the official added.
The incident caused traffic snarls for some time on the arterial LBS Road, other officials said. -- PTI