Chikkamagaluru: A KSRTC bus travelling from the city towards Belur caught fire suddenly near the Junior College in Chikkamagaluru on Tuesday. All passengers escaped safely due to the timely action of the driver and conductor.

The bus had left the city bus stand and was heading towards Belur when flames were noticed from the vehicle near the Junior College area. On spotting the fire, the driver and conductor immediately stopped the bus and ensured that all passengers got down safely.

Fire and emergency services personnel rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control.

Though the bus was carrying several passengers, no injuries were reported. It is suspected that the fire may have been caused due to a diesel leak, sources said.

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Mangaluru: Flight operations between Mangaluru and several Gulf destinations continue to remain affected, with multiple services cancelled on March 4 and 5, according to a statement issued by the airport spokesperson.

The cancelled flights on March 4 include

Mangaluru–Jeddah (IX 845)
Jeddah–Mangaluru (IX 846)
Mangaluru–Dubai (IX 831)
Mangaluru–Dubai (IX 813)
Mangaluru–Kuwait (IX 851)
Mangaluru–Dammam (IX 847)
Mangaluru–Abu Dhabi (IX 815).

Flights cancelled on March 5 include

Dubai–Mangaluru (IX 832)
Dubai–Mangaluru (IX 814)
Dammam–Mangaluru (IX 848)
Abu Dhabi–Mangaluru (IX 816).

Meanwhile, airline operations to Mumbai, Delhi and a few other cities from the Gulf are beginning in a limited manner.

Air India announced that it is deploying widebody aircraft with higher passenger capacity on its services to Jeddah and Dubai on March 3 and 4 to facilitate the return of passengers impacted by the ongoing situation in the Middle East.

A Boeing 777 aircraft with a seating capacity of close to 350 passengers departed Mumbai for Jeddah on the evening of March 3, the airline said in a statement.

This will be followed by a Boeing 787-9 aircraft with around 300 seats scheduled to depart Delhi for Dubai later in the night, and another Boeing 787-8 aircraft with over 250 seats operating from Mumbai to Dubai in the early hours of March 4.

Air India Express said it will resume flight operations to and from Muscat from March 3, 2026.

However, flights to and from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will remain suspended until 23:59 hrs IST (18:29 hrs UTC) on March 3.

SpiceJet is operating special flights from Fujairah to Delhi, Mumbai and Kochi to support Indian nationals travelling back home.