Bus crew and 56 commuters escaped unhurt after a government bus, meant for Vidiyal Payanam initiative, caught fire at Sakkaramallur village near Arcot town in Ranipet on Friday.

The police said that the bus driver K. Sundarajan, 45, a native of Sakkaramallur village, was driving the vehicle when he noticed smoke from the engine of the bus. The bus was coming from Esayanur village to Arcot town.

Immediately, Sundarajan and conductor B. Ravichandran alerted commuters in the bus who got down from the vehicle. The incident happened around 10 a.m. On being informed, fire fighters from Ranipet rushed to the spot. Before fire fighters could douse the fire, the bus was gutted.

The police removed the charred vehicle from the carriageway to resume traffic movement on the stretch. A probe is under way.