Gurgaon: Eight school children had a narrow escape as a school
bus taking them home caught fire on Dwarka expressway on Wednesday afternoon.
A swift evacuation by the driver and the attendant of the bus ensured all the kids were unhurt.
The bus, which belongs to
Delhi Public School (DPS), Sector 102, caught fire around 12.45pm when it was near
Dhankot village.
The driver, Mukesh, was quick to react when he found the engine overheating and detected smoke in the bonnet of the bus.
He immediately stopped the bus and, along with a teacher, a lady attendant, and the conductor, evacuated the shaken children through the emergency door of the school bus.
As soon as the children got off the bus, its CNG cylinder exploded, leaving the vehicle, along with the bags and other belongings of the children, completely charred.
By the time, a police team and the fire brigade personnel reached the spot and doused the flames, the school bus had been burnt beyond recognition.
The children were sent home in another bus after the school management was informed about the mishap.
"The fire broke out due to an electrical short-circuit, but we have warned the transporter. It was unfortunate but thank god, all our students and staff members are safe. Today (Thursday), all the students who were on that bus when it caught fire on Wednesday, came to school," said Anuj Saxena, the school's administrator.
But the children's parents have expressed concern and demanded that the school should ensure buses were safer.
"This is unacceptable. The school is responsible for the safety of children in its buses. Moreover, the school authorities did not inform us about the fire and tried to hush up the matter. We only got to know about it from our children," said a parent.
