21 children rescued after school bus catches fire

Immediately led the children out of the bus, says driver

The school bus in flames | Photo Credit: PTI

A total of 21 school children were safely rescued from a school bus that caught fire in the middle of a road in north-west Delhi’s Rohini on Thursday afternoon, the police said.

DCP (Rohini) Pranav Tayal said the police received a complaint at 2.21 p.m. regarding the incident. A team of officers was rushed to the spot along with two fire tenders to douse the fire.

The fire had also spread to nearby areas, including three cars, Delhi Fire Service Chief Atul Garg said.

Upon enquiry, it was found that the bus was carrying 21 children of Bal Bharati School, who were evacuated safely by the driver, Sanjay Solanki, the DCP added.

Mr. Solanki said has been ferrying children from their homes to school and back, for the past five years. As soon as he sensed trouble, Mr. Solanki said, his first concern was to ensure the safety of all the children.

“Around 2.15 p.m. I could sense a foul smell coming from the vehicle’s engine. I alerted everybody and immediately led the children out of the bus,” the driver said. He added that the bus caught fire when they were near Sector 7 in Rohini.

While he was helping the children get out of the bus, a few locals joined him in rescuing the remaining children, Mr. Solanki said.

“After rescuing the children, I requested another school bus driver to drop the children home and to ensure that they reach their homes safely,” he added.

While the incident really shook him up, Mr. Solanki, who is a resident of Narela in north-west Delhi, said he is happy that everyone escaped it safe and sound.