KUANTAN: It was a close shave for 50 passengers who managed to get off a bus before it caught fire about 7am yesterday.

The engine of the passenger bus, plying the Pekan-Kuantan route, began emitting smoke near the Kampung Sungai Soi junction.

The driver immediately parked the bus by the roadside and told everyone to get out. Moments later the bus was engulfed in flames.

"It was quite scary as everyone started to panic and rushed for the exits," said Mohd Gadaafi Mohamad, 23, who is the bus attendant.

A fire engine took 20 minutes to put out the fire which destroyed the bus. Among the passengers were office workers and schoolchildren.