Bus driver saves lives with quick action

Dubai: An alert RTA bus driver has saved the lives of about 50 passengers on board bus No 21 that caught fire as it was approaching the busy Khalid Bin Walid Street in Bur Dubai on Thursday.

The bus was on its way to Ras Al Khor from the Al Guhbaiba bus stop when the driver noticed a burning smell and told the passengers to get off.

As soon as everyone got off, the bus caught fire.

The vehicle was totally charred and two teams of firefighters were needed to put out the fire that broke out around 1.30pm, according to police at the site of the accident.

The intensity of the fire nearly melted the bus station next to where the bus driver had parked.

No injuries have been reported and an initial investigation suggests that the fire was caused by an electrical fault, according to an RTA representative on site. However, Akhtar Zaman, the driver of the bus, said that the problem started with a fault with the air conditioning.

Zaman told Gulf News that he noticed a burning smell coming from inside the bus and knew immediately that they were in some danger.

"I stopped the bus and asked the passengers to get off," he said. "As soon as the passengers were off, the bus caught fire and I jumped off immediately."

Calm and collected

The modest driver added that luck had played a big role in avoiding chaos in the middle of the road, as the damage started near a bus station. The station is located under the United Bank Limited offices.

The driver acted quickly, but at the same time calmly, and as a result there was no panic among the passengers, some of whom did not even notice the smoke before they got off the bus.

G. Patel, an Indian passenger who boarded the bus from the Al Guhbaiba bus stop said, "All marks to the driver who kept calm in such a situation and brought the bus to a halt. There was not much panic as we all evacuated the bus before it caught fire."

Curious onlookers

Mohsin Kadim, a Pakistani passenger, said that he did panic when the rumour among the passengers that the bus was on fire turned out to be true. "Thank God that the fire did not cause an explosion and no one was injured," he said.

Traffic was thrown out of gear on Khalid Bin Waleed Street, which is more popularly known as Bank Street and onlookers were seen picturing the fires on their mobiles.

Police were seen struggling to diverting the traffic from the incident area as curious drivers tried to see what was going on.