Mumbai: BEST's electric bus catches fire during battery charging; no injuries reported

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In the early hours of Friday, an electric bus operated by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), the civic transport body in Mumbai, caught fire during the battery charging process in suburban Malvani. The incident occurred at approximately 5 am; fortunately, there were no injuries.

The electric bus in question was a medium-sized electric vehicle being charged alongside several others at the charging bay. The fire originated in the battery set located on the rooftop of the bus. Once the fire was noticed, BEST employees promptly moved the buses parked nearby to prevent the blaze from spreading further. They also attempted to extinguish the fire using fire extinguishers on the buses, but it proved to be insufficient.

"The fire brigade was alerted. Its team immediately reached the spot and doused the blaze by around 5.15 am," a BEST spokesperson said.

The cause of the blaze is being ascertained, he said.

This is the sixth incident of fire involving BEST buses so far this year and third in less than three months.

More than 30 passengers had a narrow escape after a BEST bus caught fire at Marol in Andheri area of the city on July 17, while a month prior to that on June 16, an electric air-conditioned bus of the transport body caught fire when it was parked in an depot in suburban Malvani.

In February, BEST had kept 400 wet-leased buses off the roads after three back-to-back incidents of buses catching fire.

Also read: Mumbai: BEST unlikely to get funds from BMC to buy buses this year

The BEST undertaking provides public bus service in Mumbai, neighbouring Thane, Navi Mumbai and Mira-Bhayandar cities. It ferries over 30 lakh commuters with its fleet of around 3,500 buses, including those hired from different private contractors.

The transport body has hired electric buses on a wet-lease model, in which private operators own the vehicles besides holding the responsibility of maintenance, fuel and salaries of drivers. (Agencies)