Telangana, Feb 22 (DC) : A Telangana State Road Transport Corporation luxury bus in Alair, Telangana, caught fire on Tuesday afternoon, threatening the lives of over 30 passengers.

According to reports, the incident, caused by a short circuit in the bus, occurred by the side of a road around 50 km from Hyderabad.

During the journey from Warangal to Hyderabad, the driver, who had noticed a spark in the engine, stopped the bus immediately and asked all passengers to alight. The bus was destroyed in a matter of minutes.

However, the passengers were able to escape quickly.

Asserting that such an incident should not recur, Telangana Transport Minister P Mahender Reddy ordered an inquiry into the incident and asked for a detailed report from transport officials.

But this is not the first incident where a bus caught fire mid-journey.

Last week, around 70 people from Uttar Pradesh, mostly migrant workers, survived an almost identical incident while travelling in a double-decker bus.

The bus was on its way to Bahraich when its double battery caught fire due to short-circuit. The driver slammed the brakes and had everyone in the crowded bus jump off.

In December, a bus caught fire in Madhya Pradesh.

A low-floor air-conditioned bus travelling from Bhopal to Bairagarh caught fire when a diesel pipe burst. A passenger had noticed the diesel leak.

The bus burnt for nearly half an hour before emergency teams arrived.

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