Bhubaneswar: A day after an Ama Bus was completely gutted in an inferno, another such vehicle caught fire in the Odisha capital here on Sunday.

An e-bus of the ‘Ama Bus’ fleet, being operated by the Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT), caught fire at a depot in Patia area in the afternoon. Soon, the depot was engulfed by thick smoke. 

On being informed, the Fire Brigade personnel rushed to the spot and contained the fire by spraying water and foam.

It is suspected that the fire was caused by a short-circuit. The CRUT, meanwhile, said that the e-bus caught fire while being charged at the depot soon after completing a trip. 

“The staff noticed smoke at the battery compartment at around 3.30 pm and tried to douse the flames by using the fire extinguishers available at the depot. They also informed the incident to the Fire Brigade. The fire was contained later and there was no major damage to the vehicle,” said the CRUT. 

CRUT formed high-level panel to probe the bus fire

The authorities have constituted a high-level committee to probe the incident and submit a report. Officials of the Transport Department, the e-bus manufacturing firm and the TPCODL as well as the technical staff of the CRUT have been included in the panel.   

It is worth mentioning here that as many as 26 passengers had a narrow escape after an Ama Bus caught fire at Kalinga Studio Square in the city here on Saturday.

The driver and staff of the bus evacuated the passengers after smoke was noticed inside the moving bus in the morning. They also tried to control the inferno by using the onboard fire extinguisher. The blaze was finally doused by the Fire Brigade personnel.

The incident caused a temporary traffic disruption in the junction. The CRUT later revealed that an investigation has confirmed that the fire was caused by a short-circuit.