Punjab: Two students injured after school bus caught fire in Batala

BATALA: Two students sustained injuries after the school bus in which they were traveling back to their homes from school overturned in the thick of smoke caused by stubble burning at village Qila Lal Singh near Batala on Wednesday.
Senior superintendent of police, Batala, Rajpal Singh Sandhu informed that the incident happened on a link road near village Qila Lal Singh. The injured students were rushed to hospital while a case had been registered against the driver of the school bus and unknown persons who had put the stubble on fire.
Giving further details, deputy superintendent police (DSP) Fatehgarh Churian Riputapan Singh informed that there were around 30 students in the school bus when it left Sri Guru Har Rai Public School to drop the students at their homes but at the time of incident, there were there around 10 students.
He said there was a thick layer of smoke on the link road due to stubble burning in the neighbouring fields and when the driver of the bus tried to pass through the smoke, he lost control of the bus following which the bus tilted and overturned and also caught fire.
Sources informed that the driver of the school bus and the local residents immediately rushed for help and rescued the children from the burning bus.
Unconfirmed sources also informed that six school children were injured in the incident who were admitted to different hospitals in Batala. How the bus caught fire was also questionable, added sources.
Reacting to the incident Punjab education minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer tweeted that he took the report of the incident from deputy commissioner, Gurdaspur Muhammad Ishfaq and directed to provide free treatment to the injured students.
Ishfaq informed that he had marked an inquiry of the incident to different departments and best of the treatment was being provided to the injured students.