Fire breaks out in tram, no casualties

KOLKATA: A fire broke out in an Air Conditioned (AC) tram car on Friday afternoon at the crossing of AJC Bose Rod and Elliot Road crossing.

The incident took place around 1 pm when the tram was moving towards Esplanade.

The tram car coming from Gariahat was taking a left from the Nonapukur Tram depot crossing on AJC Bose road when a few pedestrians spotted smoke on the back side.

Immediately, they alerted the tram driver and the passengers. The passengers were evacuated promptly and the tram was stopped. A few traffic cops, who were on duty nearby, informed the fire brigade. Coincidentally , a water carrier of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) passing through the area was stopped and sprayed water to control the fire. Meanwhile, one fire tender reached the spot and doused the fire within half an hour. Due to the incident, a major traffic congestion took place along the AJC Bose road and Elliot Road. Tram services on that route had to be suspended till the damaged tram car was removed. It is suspected that the fire had broken out due to a short circuit. However, an inquiry will be done to ascertain the cause of the incident.