Bus driver badly burnt after near fatal CNG explosion

What should have been a fairly uneventful Friday morning for school bus driver Indra Changar took a dangerous turn when the school bus she had been using for the past 10 years exploded without warning as she opened the door to the driver’s side seat to begin her day.

According to reports at around 5 am, Changar, 54, was at her Munroe Road, Cunupia, home last Friday when she opened the door to the bus as it exploded. She caught fire instantly, sustaining burns to her head, neck and torso. Relatives went to her assistance and extinguished the fire, before taking her to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex.

Newsday visited Changar at the cardiology ward two, yesterday where she is being treated. Relatives said they were deeply traumatised by the incident and said they wanted a thorough investigation into the cause of the explosion. They said in Changar’s 10 years as a bus driver, they never expected something like this would happen.

Relatives said while they are grateful she is still alive and has a chance at recovery, they were not satisfied with the level of care she was receiving at the hospital.

“Her vision is blurry, she is responsive but can’t speak very much. The only reason she was sitting up like that was because we showered her and brought her some clothes. We haven’t been able to see a doctor as yet for an update on her condition and what treatment options are available, partly because there were no beds available at the adult surgical ward where she needs to be.

“We expect to see a doctor tomorrow (today) and hopefully get some update as to what is going on or at least how long they intend to keep her here. We want a clean and fair investigation into what happened.”

Relatives said officials from Massy Automotive Components Ltd (MACL) visited their home and took photos and conducted a cursory assessment of the vehicle, but said they hoped officials from the Natural Gas Company (NGC) would have also visited.

Newsday understands that the gas may have leaked out from the tank of the bus overnight and as Changar attempted to open the door, it acted as a trigger causing the explosion.

According to relatives another bus driver complained of poorly functioning gas tanks on the buses.
“We would really like to see a proper and thorough investigation be done in this matter. We know how easy it is for matters like these to be thrown under the bus so to speak, but this is an issue of public safety.”

A release from the NGC CNG Company Ltd yesterday confirmed that the bus had earlier received an approved CNG conversion by MACL an approved CNG converter by the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries (MEEEI) and sought to assure public that all stakeholders were cooperating with investigators on the matter.