19 Dec 2014

Buses burnt out in Fiji

7:12 pm on 19 December 2014

The head of a Fiji bus company says 14 of his buses have been engulfed by fire at a terminal in Nasinu early on Friday morning.

Nair Transport's general manager Ritesh Nair says he was able to drive some of the newer buses away from the flames saving part of his forty bus fleet but 14 are badly burnt.

He says security footage shows the fire started at just after 3am and appears to have begun in the roof of one of the buses before it quickly spread suggesting overhead powerlines may be linked to the blaze.

"There was a fire in about something close to 14 of my buses. The reasons for the fire are still unknown, the police are still investigating, and we are waiting for their report, probably they will come back and give me an answer by Monday. Personally we think it's because of a powerline issue, that one of the powerlines fell on one of our buses that runs overhead."

Ritesh Nair says he hopes his insurance will cover the loss and bus services will not be interrupted as most of the destroyed buses are used for school transport and it is now the holiday season.