Belthangady: According to sources, panic was caused on a bus, headed from Madanthyar to Uppinangadi when the cellphone of the bus driver, Sandesh(23 yrs) exploded in his pocket on 14th March Tuesday.

Sandeep was injured in the incident, but his alertness and timely action saved the passengers from any further dangers. The incident happened in a private bus named 'Shiva Kripa' at Alake near Madanthyar. The bus is said to have started to move after dropping some passengers at a bus stop near Alake.

A sudden explosion took place in Sandeep's pocket as his cell phone exploded and set his shirt on fire.

Even after the explosion, Sandeep didn't lose control and was able to stop the bus. He threw his burning shirt away and poured some water on the burning cell phone. Hence, he was successfully able to avert any damage and saved the passengers.

It is said that Sandesh bought the smartphone from Intex company for Rs 5900, a year back and so far had no trouble with it. He used to fully charge it in morning before leaving for work.

To his luck, another driver was travelling in the bus and took Sandesh to the hospital. He has sustained some burn injuries and also has some pain in his eyes.