Overview
- A luxury intercity coach caught fire near the start of the Vashi bridge on Sunday after the driver noticed smoke, evacuated all 20–22 passengers safely, and firefighters took about 30 minutes to douse the blaze while the bus was gutted.
- Late on Sunday night two parked BEST CNG buses at the Pratiksha Nagar depot in Sion were separately gutted after a security guard spotted flames, there were no injuries, and officials say a technical or CNG-related fault is suspected for at least one vehicle.
- A third BEST vehicle emitted sparks at the Magathane depot on Monday morning and was returned to the yard for checks, expanding the incidents from a single moving-bus fire to a cluster of bus-related fires within 24 hours.
- On-scene accounts and fire officials reported staff struggled to use on-board extinguishers and that some buses may lack fully functional emergency exits, raising questions about depot maintenance, contractor oversight, and crew training.
- Investigations remain provisional and authorities have begun technical forensics and wider reviews of fleet upkeep and contractor practices, outcomes that could lead to stricter depot checks, retraining of staff, and temporary service disruptions for commuters.