Bus catches fire on Mumbai-Pune Expressway; 2nd incident in day
What's the story
A private sleeper coach bus traveling from Udaipur to Pune caught fire on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway on Thursday morning. The incident took place near Panvel at 7:20am. There were 14 passengers on board the bus, and no injuries or casualties were reported in the incident. After the fire, brigade teams from the Panvel Municipal Corporation and Khopoli Municipal Council quickly rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control.
Cause of fire
Fire suspected to be caused by technical snag
The fire is suspected to have been caused by a technical snag in the vehicle's air conditioning (AC) system, per PTI.
This incident took place just hours after nine passengers were killed in a bus fire on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida late Wednesday night.
In this case too, preliminary investigations suggest the fire started from a blast in the air conditioning system. This explosion is believed to have ignited the engine oil, causing the flames to spread rapidly.
Twitter Post
Video of burning bus
#WATCH | Khalapur, Maharashtra | A bus caught fire on the Pune-bound lane of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Fire brigade teams from the Panvel Municipal Corporation and Khopoli Municipal Council rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control. There were 14 passengers on… pic.twitter.com/ONfSuVJXke
— ANI (@ANI) September 24, 2026
Rescue operation
Firefighting teams brought blaze under control
Police have since arrested the driver and cleaner.
According to the FIR filed in the case, before the fire, passengers told the driver about a burning smell and alerted the driver and conductor.
However, they were dismissed and told to stay quiet as they continued to smoke.
A few minutes later, flames erupted from the front end of the bus.
When the panicked passengers starting screaming, the driver reportedly told them, "I don't care if you die, I won't stop."