NAVI MUMBAI, Sept. 24 -- A long-distance passenger bus caught fire on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway early Thursday morning, but all 14 passengers escaped unharmed after the driver noticed smoke coming from the vehicle's air-conditioning system and quickly pulled over.

The incident occurred around 7:25 am near kilometre 16.600 on the Mumbai-bound carriageway. The bus, registered in Madhya Pradesh, was travelling from Udaipur, Rajasthan, to Pune.

The driver, identified by the police as Chhatrapal Singh Kishor Singh Vahia, spotted the smoke, pulled over and evacuated the passengers from the vehicle.

He attempted to control the fire using a fire extinguisher available in the vehicle. But the fire rapidly intensified and engulfed the entire bu...