Nearly 39 passengers and the crew of a TGSRTC electric (e-SL) bus had a narrow escape when the vehicle caught fire at Algunur near Karimnagar on the Rajiv Rahadari (State Highway-1) on Sunday (June 21, 2026) morning.

Upon noticing fumes from the HV Battery Compartment, the driver immediately stopped the Hyderabad-bound bus along the roadside and alerted the passengers.

All the occupants of the bus managed to alight safely just minutes before the bus was engulfed in flames.

The driver attempted to extinguish the fire using two fire extinguishers on the bus, but in vain.

By the time a fire tender reached the spot and doused the fire, the electric bus had been almost completely gutted, sources said.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

The LMD Colony police have registered a case and launched an investigation.