Gorakhpur (UP), May 10 (PTI) An Uttar Pradesh roadways bus caught fire here on Wednesday and a major tragedy was averted due to the alertness of the driver who stopped the vehicle on time and evacuated all 42 passengers, police said

The incident happened at Patna Chauraha when a driver of a bus passing by alerted Shailendra Kumar Singh about the smoke coming out of the engine of the roadways bus, they said.

Also Read | Tigers Seen Roaming in Uttarakhand Village; Authorities Intensify Patrols, Set Up Cameras for Vigilance.

Singh stopped the vehicle and with the help of conductor Vipin Maurya, evacuated all the 42 passengers from the bus safely, they said.

Inspector Kalyan Singh Sagar (Barhalganj) said a fire tender was rushed to the spot to control the blaze and traffic.

Also Read | Modi Government on Same-Sex Marriage: 'May Not Be Correct Course of Action', Says Centre on Supreme Court's Hint at Declaration on Gay Marriages.

“The fire was controlled within an hour with one fire tender and all the 42 passengers came out safely from the bus,” he said.

Due to the incident, there was a huge traffic jam for around two hours on the highway but the police slowly controlled and eased the traffic, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)