A few schoolchildren and the driver of a van had a miraculous escape when the vehicle they were in caught fire near Vijaya Bank Circle, off Vishwamanava Double Road, in Kuvempunagar here on Tuesday.
On seeing smoke inside the van, some passers-by alerted the driver, Lokesh, who was dropping off the children from a private school to their homes at 3.50 p.m. He immediately got down and got the children off the vehicle. In no time, it was engulfed in flames that spread to an ATM cash distribution vehicle parked nearby.
A team from the Fire and Emergency Services, led by District Fire Officer Gururaj, rushed to the spot with two fire fighting units and managed to douse the fire that had destroyed the van completely.
A source at Saraswathipuram Fire Station told The Hindu that a short circuit in the LPG kit of the van was suspected to be the reason for the fire.
“We were told that the driver had dropped some children home and a couple of them were inside the van when it caught fire,” he said.
