A sleeper bus traveling from Cox’s Bazar to Dhaka caught fire on the Cox’s Bazar–Chattogram highway late Friday night. Local residents broke the bus windows to rescue the passengers, helping avert a potentially serious accident.

The incident occurred around midnight on August 21 in front of N Alam Filling Station, west of Kolghor Bazar in Ramu. The bus belonged to Icon Paribahan.

Ramu Police Station Officer-in-Charge AK Fazlul Haque said no passengers were injured. With help from local residents, all passengers were safely evacuated. Their belongings were later recovered from the bus and returned to them.

According to passengers, the driver and his assistant did not inform them that the bus had caught fire. Both reportedly fled the scene after the incident.

Local resident Anis Islam said passengers told him they were struggling to breathe as smoke filled the bus. He said a major accident could have occurred if local residents had not rescued them in time.

Residents noticed smoke and flames coming from outside the bus and quickly broke the windows to bring the passengers out.

Firefighters from Ramu Fire Service and Civil Defence later arrived at the scene and brought the fire under control.

Abdul Quader Chowdhury, station officer of Ramu Fire Service and Civil Defence, said the initial assessment suggested that the fire may have started due to a mechanical problem and overheating of the engine. However, the exact cause will be confirmed after an investigation.