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Archive - Archive 2004 - July 2013

Fire destroys 3 SPTC buses |08 July 2013

Jones Madeleine from the Seychelles Fire & Rescue Services Agency said the fire station close by was alerted on the fire at around 49 minutes past midnight and three fire engines were immediately deployed to the scene.

“Using foam, the fire was put out in a very short time,” said Mr Madeleine.
Asked what may have caused the fire Mr Madeleine said there are different assumptions but these are being left to the police to determine through their investigations before an official cause is given.

The Seychelles Public Transport Corporation (SPTC) spokesperson Bernadette Soffola confirmed thatthree of the buses are beyond repair, meaning they will be removed from the company’s fleet.
The buses to be written off are of 36, 40 and 30-seat capacity.

The two buses that have been salvaged include a 60 and a 30-seater.
She said the police and the Fire & Rescue Services Agency have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire, which is believed to have been the result of sabotage.
The Minister for Home Affairs and Transport Joel Morgan and the chief executive of the SPTC Geffy Zialor have condemned the act and the minister has asked Police Commissioner Ernest Quatre to carry out  a thorough investigation so that those responsible are swiftly brought to justice.
As a result of this act, the SPTC has a shortage of five buses in its fleet. To note, this is a great loss for SPTC. The cost of buses which have been completely destroyed amounts to over R1.5 million.

All the buses were insured but SPTC will not be able to recover all the loss through the insurance cover. As a result, government will have to find extra funds to replace the buses.

SPTC would like to reassure members of the public that the corporation will make the necessary practical arrangements to ensure that bus services provided by the Traffic Section including Special Hire services are not affected in any way.

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