A severe fire incident broke out on a PO Gunung Harta double-decker bus at KM 631 of the Nganjuk Toll Road on Saturday (1/8) early morning. The Volvo fleet vehicle with license plate number B 7572 KGA was completely burned down, leaving only a metal frame. Fortunately, there were no casualties in the incident, which shocked toll road users.
The intercity interprovincial (AKAP) bus was traveling from Jakarta (Pondok Cabe) to its final destination of Jember, East Java. At the time of the incident at 00:15 WIB, the vehicle was carrying a total of 33 people, consisting of 30 passengers, two drivers, and one conductor.
Purwanto (61), the bus driver from Wuluhan, Jember Regency, stated that all passengers were successfully evacuated from the cabin before the flames grew and consumed the entire bus body. The crew's quick response in guiding the passengers minimized the potential for casualties in this emergency incident.
Extinguishing efforts deployed at least six fire engines from the Nganjuk and Madiun areas. The joint task force took about two hours to tame the raging fire until the cooling process was completed to ensure no hotspots remained.
To avoid traffic congestion and secure the scene, personnel from East Java 6 Nganjuk Highway Patrol (Sat PJR) along with the Jasa Marga team immediately implemented traffic flow diversions around KM 631. Once the cooling process was completed, the wreckage of the bus was immediately evacuated, and traffic flow on the toll road segment gradually returned to normal.
