KOCHI: Around 30 passengers of Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram bus had a miraculous escape thanks to the alert driver who put out the smoke that emanated from one of the engines at the right time on Thursday.

According to sources, the State-owned air-conditioned bus was on its way to Thiruvananthapuram. When the bus neared the Kollam collectorate, the driver was alerted by the fire alarm. He immediately stopped the bus and found smoke emanating from one of the engines.

With the help of local people, the driver put out the smoke with fire extinguishers.