A low-floor cluster blue bus with around 50 passengers onboard was completely gutted after it caught fire in east Delhi’s Jagatpuri area near A block bus stand on Thursday.

According to the police, no passengers were injured. DCP Shahdara Surendra Choudhary said, “On Thursday at 9.48 am, we received a PCR call at Jagatpuri police station about a cluster bus burning at A block bus stand in Jagatpuri. After reaching the spot, it is found that fire broke out in a blue colour cluster bus.”

He added that as the vehicle is a CNG air-conditioned bus, there was a danger of fire spreading. “So the area was cordoned off and about 40 passengers were rescued. Three fire tenders reached at the spot immediately and extinguished the fire,” DCP stated, adding that no one was injured and no causality was reported. The bus was plying on route 340, from Central Secretariat to Seemapuri. The probable cause of the fire was short-circuit in the AC system, he added.

The Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Limited (DIMTS) monitors and manages cluster buses. An inquiry has been ordered, transport department officials said and added that the bus will be examined by the manufacturer to determine what caused the fire.

Reacting to the news, Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said, “This bus was not very old and only four years old.

We will conduct an investigation to know the reason for the fire. We will hundred percent get to the root cause of the incident. We stand committed to the safety of passengers. We will surely come down very heavily on those responsible at any level.”

Another officer added, “It is a matter of concern that a relatively new bus caught fire. The fire started from the back portion and despite efforts by the driver and the conductor to extinguish it, it spread.”

Station officer of Delhi Fire Services (DFS) Anoop Singh said a call was received around 9.40 am about the incident and three fire tenders were sent to the spot. It is suspected that an electrical short-circuit in the vehicle’s air conditioning system may have caused the fire, Singh said.

Eyewitness Surender Bhola said a biker noticed smoke coming out of the bus engine and alerted the driver, who immediately stopped the vehicle and instructed the passengers to get off.

The incident caused a massive traffic jam at the Jagatpuri crossing, affecting other commuters. “Traffic is affected on New Rohtak Road in the carriageway from Kamal T-Point towards Punjabi Bagh due to a fire in a Cluster Bus on Zakhira Flyover. Commuters are advised to avoid the stretch,” it said in a post on X.