Locals Rescue 30 Passengers After Fire Breaks Out on Moving Bus in Ramu
Photo Collected
RAMU, Bangladesh — Local residents rescued 30 passengers from a burning sleeper bus in Cox’s Bazar late Friday after the vehicle caught fire while traveling toward Dhaka. No injuries were reported in the incident, which occurred around midnight near Kalghar Bazar in the Ramu Upazila.
The air-conditioned bus, operated by Icon Paribahan, had departed from Kolatoli in Cox’s Bazar at approximately 11:00 p.m. Passengers reported that the vehicle’s driver and assistant abandoned the bus immediately after the fire broke out without alerting those on board. As the doors remained locked, trapped passengers, including women and children, were unable to exit the smoke-filled cabin.
Witnesses and passengers stated that local residents noticed the fire and rushed to the scene to assist. Using sticks and other implements, they shattered the bus windows to extract the passengers. Abdus Sabur, a passenger from the Chakaria Upazila, said he smelled burning rubber shortly before the blaze spread, noting that the passengers were only saved by the swift intervention of the local community. Another passenger, Md. Rayhan, confirmed that the crew fled the scene as the fire intensified, leaving the occupants to rely entirely on the local rescuers.
Sergeant Parvez Khan of the Ramu Highway Police Station arrived within 10 minutes of the incident. He described a chaotic scene where passengers were screaming from inside the locked vehicle as flames consumed the bus. Working alongside local residents, officers managed to evacuate everyone on board and retrieved the passengers’ luggage from the wreckage.
Md. Abdul Kader Chowdhury, station officer for the Ramu Fire Service and Civil Defence, stated that preliminary investigations suggest the fire was caused by a mechanical fault that led to the engine overheating. Following the rescue, the fire was brought under control by responding firefighters. The passengers were provided alternative transportation to continue their journey to Dhaka later that night.
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