Delhi: Alert driver saves 35 school girls
Bus carrying students catches fire on the busy Nangloi flyover.
New Delhi: Quick presence of mind shown by a bus driver averted a major fire mishap after a private bus carrying students of Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya accidentally caught fire on the busy Nangloi flyover on Wednesday morning. At the time of the incident, around 35 girls were seated in the bus. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.
The incident took place at the Nangloi flyover at around 1.30 pm after the bus driver, identified as Kartar Singh, noticed a thick smoke billowing out of the bus engine and immediately de-boarded all the girl students and the school staff members.
According to Delhi Fire Services and police, there were over 35 girls in the bus along with few staff members, who were returning to their school from Chhatrasal Stadium after finishing their Republic Day drill. Panic gripped the students after they found one side of the bus door locked. However, Kartar Singh, the bus driver, immediately opened the front door of the bus and de-boarded them safely. By the time, passersby who witnessed commotion rushed for Kartar Singh’s aid and helped him saved the occupants from the blaze. Meanwhile, high drama prevailed on the road when alert passersby came together to douse the flames.
According to Manoj Kumar, an eye-witness, “I saw smoke emanating from the bus and in no time the fire had begun to spread. I along with others rushed to check and found the bus driver de-boarding the bus. We all lent a helping hand and safely got all the students out of the bus. Then we tried to douse the flames by putting sand and water on it. But, in vain.”
By the time the fire tender reached the spot, the bus had got completely charred. Due to the incident, the traffic in Nangloi came to a grinding halt and was brought back to normal after two hours.
According to locals, it took nearly one hour for fire tenders to reach the spot as the vehicle got caught in traffic jam. Fortunately, no causalties have been reported. According to preliminary reports, a suspected short circuit might have led to the fire.