Bhubaneswar: Panic gripped employees of a filling station in Khandagiri area after two stationary buses caught fire on Saturday. Both the buses were off-road and parked near the petrol pump for the past seven to eight years.
Though the exact reason as to how the buses caught fire is still uncertain, it is suspected that the mishap occurred due to short-circuit in overhead electric wire. However, the officials of the petrol bunk ruled out any electrical short circuit behind the incident.
"At around 6.30 AM we experienced some fluctuation in electricity supply and when we came out we detected smoke coming out of the buses. The buses were parked here for the past eight years. We immediately stopped electric supply. The wires snapped due to heat almost 45 minutes after the fire mishap. We don't know what caused the fire," said Harekrushna Mohanty, an official of the electricity sub-station.
Bhubaneswar Fire Officer, Saroj Behera informed that both the buses were parked near an open field.
"Till now it is not clear what caused the fire and investigation in this connection is on," said Behera.