The Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service has been suspended after a fourth vehicle caught fire, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Mohammad Umar Khan, a spokesman for TransPeshawar that runs the buses, said the fire erupted at the back of a BRT bus on the Hayatabad route. All passengers were safely evacuated, Umar Khan said.
He said the company will have all the buses inspected again by the manufacturer before they are put back on the route. The safety of passengers is their top priority and the bus service will be restored very soon. The suspension is temporary, he added.
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According to the spokesman, the bus service will be restored after each vehicle is technically cleared by the company.
Rescue 1122 in a statement said that the bus caught fire near Sunday Bazaar in the Hayatabad area of the city. The statement said rescuers put out the fire immediately and there were no casualties.
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The rescuers said that the fire started in air-conditioning compartment and was extinguished with the use of carbon dioxide. Video footages shared on social media and WhatsApp groups showed plumes of thick smoke coming out of the bus.
This was the fourth such incident in less than a month.
The first bust caught fire on August 26 at Hayatabad station, the second incident occurred on September 3 at University Road and the third happened on September 11 at Chimkani.
The BRT service was inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan on August 14 after multiple delays. He had called it “the highest-level metro project of the country”.
At least 128 buses ply the 27-kilometre track in Peshawar. They stop at 30 stations across the city.