At least 30 passengers on board a private bus had a miraculous escape after the vehicle caught fire at Kanjipani Ghat in Keonjhar district in the wee hours of Saturday.
No causalities or injuries were reported in the mishap, said the fire officials.
As per reports, the private bus named 'Padhi' was on its way from Rourkela to Keonjhar when the fire erupted at around 3 am near Kanjipani Ghat due to a short circuit.
The bus driver first saw smoke emanating from the engine of the bus. Acting swiftly, the driver and the conductor alerted the passengers about the situation and vacated the bus quickly without any panic. They even managed to bring out the luggage of the passengers from the vehicle before the bus went up in flames.
The local residents helped the passengers in bringing out their belongings from the bus. They also helped the passengers catch other buses to reach their respective destinations.
Subsequently, fire service personnel were called in who rushed to the spot all the way from Telkoi. However, the blaze had engulfed the entire bus gutting it completely by the time fire service personnel reached the spot.