Leaking gas tank leads to fire in schoolbus,kids safe

It began like an usual trip in the morning — children peering out of windows and flying paper planes — till they smelt the gas leaking from the CNG kit. It was 8 am,and the DTC schoolbus was metres from the Evergreen Public School in Vasundhara Enclave.

Forty children,a teacher,a driver and a conductor were on board. Sneha Kesri,a Class I student was sitting on the right side of the bus,talking to a friend. Pratik Kumar,student of Class II,was at the back playing with his friends.

All were told to sit as the driver,Praveen Kumar,went down to check what was wrong. Just as he stooped,the tank blew up.

“There was a blast and then we saw fire licking the windows. For a few moments,we sat transfixed,” said Asmita Maheshwari,a student of Class IX.

And then,there was pandemonium. Some children began crying,others,too afraid to cry,left their belongings behind as they rushed for safety.

Kumar,who sustained 30 per cent burns on his legs and face,rushed in to evacuate the bus. The teacher helped.

“The driver carried me down in his arms and then he brought out my friends too,” said Sneha. It took some minutes for all the students to be brought out,with senior students and passers-by pitching in.

The school authorities rushed to the spot and brought back the students. “We got a counsellor and a doctor over to examine the children. Thankfully,none of them were hurt and a major tragedy had been averted,” said Anita Vardhan,Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the school.

Soon,worried parents reached to make sure their wards were safe.

The driver and conductor,Dinesh Kumar,were both taken to Dharamshila Hospital in Vasundhara Enclave and then referred to the Safdurjung Hospital.

Police said the blast was caused by a leakage in the CNG kit.