Mother wakes up in time as AC vent collapses due to bus fire in Hassan
Mangaluru: What started as a routine overnight journey from Surathkal to Bengaluru turned into a fight for survival Vaishnavi And then her 10 year old daughter The private bus in which they were traveling caught fire near Shantigram in Hassan district Early on Saturday.Vaishnavi said that the falling AC vent probably saved her life. She had boarded the bus at lower berths 8 and 9 with her daughter at 9.30 pm on Friday night. After working on her laptop until the bus entered the ghat section, where network connectivity stopped, she went to sleep.She told TOI, “Around 1.30 am, I closed my laptop and went to sleep. An hour later, the bus stopped somewhere in Hassan and I saw the driver and cleaner moving around as if something had gone wrong. We thought the crew might have sensed some problem, but we still decided to continue as Bengaluru was less than 200 km away.”The bus resumed its journey but stopped again near Shantigram. A stampede broke out within some time. “Smoke started entering the bus. But the crew did not shout or ask the passengers to leave,” he said. “The moment that probably saved my life was when the AC vent suddenly fell on my face and I woke up completely. Then I smelled a strong smell of smoke.”As the passengers urged the driver to stop, Vaishnavi woke up her daughter and got out. “We had no slippers, no bag, nothing. I only had my phone as I usually keep it in my pocket while traveling through the ghat section. Everything else – my laptop, purse with important cards, jewellery, clothes – were inside,” she said.As the bus burst into flames, Vaishnavi shouted for the passengers to get out before pulling her daughter to safety. She said, “I ran as far as I could, I thought the bus might explode. At that moment, I only wanted to save my child.”Later he noticed that passengers were still getting out and passing motorists, bus drivers and locals rushed to help with water and fire extinguishers. Fire and emergency services personnel arrived at around 3.15pm.She said, “My clothes smelled of smoke. I could still hear voices and it felt like there was smoke everywhere around me.” As most of the Bengaluru-bound buses were full due to the busy travel season, some buses offered standing space to stranded passengers. Eventually, Vaishnavi and her daughter boarded the KSRTC Sarige bus.“I had no money. I held my daughter tightly all the way to Bengaluru and tried to control my tears. She was still in shock. It was only after we reached home that I broke down completely,” she said.He said, “I lost my documents, jewellery, clothes and laptop. My daughter also took her dance costume and jewelery to perform in front of the family after completing her junior dance exams recently. We are grateful to have escaped alive, but strongly feel that the crew should have warned the passengers earlier.”