CHENNAI: An MTC bus that had recently been converted to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) instead of diesel for a pilot study caught fire on Tuesday. There were 10 passengers on board, but no one was injured. The bus was completely gutted in the fire.
The incident occurred around 2:00 pm when the bus bound for Kelambakkam from Broadway (cut 102) was plying on LB Road in Adyar. The driver stopped the vehicle about 200 metres before the Adyar bus stop after noticing smoke coming out of the gearbox.
He immediately alerted and evacuated the passengers. Within minutes, the gearbox and fuel tank caught fire, and the entire bus was on fire. Firefighters rushed to the spot and doused the fire. As a precautionary measure, the police evacuated the staff of nearby commercial establishments on LB Road.
Officials said the bus, a BS IV model with an old body, was recently renovated and converted to run on CNG for the pilot study. The CNG kit conversion was undertaken by Chennai Gas Station Company with support from Torrent Gas Private Limited.
The bus has been in operation since July 27. Alby John Varghese, managing director of MTC, told TNIE: "The cause of the accident is being investigated by the technical team of MTC and the private company."
