Green Line bus goes up in flames en route to Barishal

The incident caused no harm to the passengers, but many of them lost their belongings kept in the rear luggage compartment

An air-conditioned bus operated by Green Line Paribahan Ltd has been burnt in a fire en route to Barishal from Dhaka.

The bus caught fire around 12:15 am on Friday in Gournadi Upazila, according to Sub-Inspector Tomal Sarker of the local highway police outpost.

The incident halted traffic on the Barishal-Dhaka Highway for almost an hour, authorities said.

The Green Line AC bus was transporting around 17 passengers to Barishal when the back of the vehicle caught fire due to a 'technical glitch'.

"The flames swiftly engulfed the bus. The driver quickly hit the brakes and the passengers evacuated the vehicle immediately,” said Gournadi Fire Service and Civil Defence Station Officer Bipul Hossain.

Two firefighting units tamed the flames after a one-and-a-half-hour battle.

“The fire caused significant damage to the bus and passengers’ belongings stored in the rear luggage compartment. Emergency responders retrieved valuables from the front luggage compartment."

The fire started in the machinery at the back of the bus, SI Tomal said.

No passengers were harmed in the incident and traffic resumed on the route around 1:30 am, he added.

Authorities will investigate the cause of the fire, highway police station chief Golam Rasul Molla said.