Twelve newly procured air-conditioned buses were gutted after a major fire swept through a row of CNG-run vehicles at the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking’s Anik bus depot in central Mumbai on Monday evening, officials said. No injuries were reported in the incident.
The fire broke out around 5.45 pm in the yard of the Anik depot and rapidly spread among buses parked next to one another. Thick columns of black smoke rising from the facility could be seen from a considerable distance, while eyewitnesses reported hearing multiple explosions during the blaze.
12 new buses destroyed
According to civic officials, the vehicles destroyed were 12 air-conditioned “midi buses” — single-decker mini buses — that had recently been procured for BEST’s fleet. All 12 were extensively damaged before firefighters could bring the blaze under control.
A BEST spokesperson said the buses belonged to private operator Daga Group, which operates vehicles for the undertaking. The company has been replacing its older buses with new vehicles over the past several months.
More than 140 new buses have already been added to the operator’s fleet, while over 50 more are expected to be inducted. The 12 buses destroyed on Monday were part of this new consignment.
The financial extent of the damage was not immediately known.
Firefighting operation
At least four fire engines, five water tankers and other firefighting vehicles were rushed to the depot after authorities received information about the blaze. Firefighters battled the flames for more than an hour as the closely parked buses complicated efforts to contain the spread.
Officials said the fire was brought under control before being completely extinguished at around 8.20 pm, nearly two-and-a-half hours after it first broke out.
Firefighters also worked to prevent the blaze from spreading further across the depot, where other buses and infrastructure were present. Some trees inside the premises were singed because of the intensity of the flames.
Despite the scale of the fire, officials said there were no reports of injuries to BEST employees, drivers, maintenance personnel or firefighters.
Witnesses report blasts
Eyewitnesses said they heard several loud blasts while the buses were burning and claimed that CNG cylinders fitted to the vehicles had exploded.
Officials, however, had not confirmed the cause of the reported explosions or whether CNG cylinders had actually ruptured. The precise sequence of events will form part of the investigation into the blaze.
CNG buses carry compressed natural gas in high-pressure cylinders and are equipped with safety mechanisms. Investigators will have to establish whether any of the cylinders were involved in the explosions reported by witnesses or whether the sounds came from other components exposed to intense heat.
Cause under investigation
The cause of the fire remained unknown on Monday night. BEST officials said an investigation would be conducted to determine where the blaze originated and how it spread across the parked buses.
Investigators are expected to examine the electrical systems of the vehicles, their CNG equipment and the circumstances in which the buses were parked. CCTV footage from the depot and accounts from employees and witnesses could also help establish the sequence of events.
The fact that the destroyed buses were newly procured is likely to draw particular scrutiny as authorities examine whether the fire originated in one of the vehicles or from an external source before spreading to the others.
Fleet expansion takes hit
The loss comes at a time when BEST has been attempting to expand and modernise Mumbai’s public bus fleet through the induction of newer vehicles operated both directly and through private contractors.
Daga Group has been progressively replacing its older buses, with more than 140 new vehicles already brought into service and another batch of over 50 expected to join the fleet.
The destruction of 12 buses from the new consignment represents a setback to that induction programme, though officials had not immediately said whether it would affect scheduled services.
The Anik depot is one of BEST’s important facilities in Mumbai and accommodates buses serving several parts of the city. Operations at the depot following the fire and the condition of surrounding vehicles and infrastructure were being assessed.
With the flames extinguished and no casualties reported, attention has now shifted to establishing what triggered the blaze and whether the reported explosions played a role in its rapid spread through the line of newly procured buses.