Noida school bus catches fire, children evacuated

The incident took place on the intersecting road between Gaur Grandeur and Eldeco Apartments. The children were taken out one at a time from the doors at the back of the bus.

Kids were evacuated through emergency door. (Express: Gajendra Yadav)

A school bus caught fire due to a short-circuit in Noida’s Sector 119 Tuesday morning, with the children inside managing to escape without major injuries, police said. The bus belonged to a private company, and had been hired by Indus Valley Public School in Sector 63 on a contractual basis.

“We received information that a bus close to Gaur Grandeur Housing Society had caught fire. Since it was a school bus, teams rushed immediately and two fire trucks arrived. Seven-eight children were in the bus when the fire broke out. The cause was an electrical short-circuit. No formal complaint has been filed yet,” said Akhilesh Tripathi, Station House Officer, Phase 3.

The incident took place on the intersecting road between Gaur Grandeur and Eldeco Apartments. The children were taken out one at a time from the doors at the back of the bus.

The bus driver said the emergency door was opened as soon as the fire erupted. “We were dropping the last set of students. The route of the bus usually goes from Sector 62, where the school is situated, till Sector 125. I heard some sparking and saw that flames had covered the front part of the bus. The conductor, who was standing behind, opened the emergency exit. People helped us,” said Mukesh, the driver.

The children belonged to Classes VII-IX and were returning home early as examinations are on. Authorities at the Indus Valley Public School could not be reached for comment.

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