Four persons including three Plus One students of a private school managed to escape after their school bus caught fire near the railway level crossing in Senthamangalam village near Arakkonam on Saturday.
Police suspect that an electrical short circuit may have been the cause of the accident.
The police said S. Srinivasan (35), bus driver, picked up three XIth standard students from Senthamangalam village, the starting point for the bus, to go to the Bharathidasanar Matriculation Higher Sec School in Arakkonam, around 10 km from the village when a two-wheeler rider noticed smoke on the left side of the vehicles and alerted the driver near the railway level crossing. Immediately, Mr. Srinivasan stopped the bus and got the students out of the vehicle for safety. The incident happened around 6.15 a.m. on Saturday.
Upon receiving the alert, a four-member team of firefighters, led by its Station Fire Officer (SFO), Arakkonam, reached the spot. However, by the time the firefighters reached the spot at around 6.45 a.m., the vehicle was almost gutted. The fire was finally put down completely by 7.30 a.m.
As the incident took place near the manned railway crossing, there was traffic chaos for about half an hour. The police rushed to the spot and regulated the traffic.
Police said that the sudden fire in the school van would be probed including whether the vehicle has a fitness certificate (FC) and insurance. A case of accidental fire has been filed by Nemili police. Further investigation is on.
