BENGALURU: A private school vehicle caught fire near Malleswaram railway gate on Friday. Five schoolchildren were in the vehicle at the time of the incident. The driver fled the spot, leaving the children in the vehicle. A passerby rescued the children before alerting the fire and emergency personnel, who doused the fire. A spark in the engine is said to be the cause for the fire.
Subramanyanagar police said the incident took place around 8.30am and the bus was heading towards Malleswaram. Five children — two boys and three girls — aged between 5 and 8 years, were in the bus. The bus belongs to Chandra English High School, Prakashnagar.
The driver, who noticed a spark in the engine, stopped the vehicle and fled. Sudha, a passerby, who noticed children screaming for help, rescued them with the help of locals. She later alerted police and fire personnel. Two fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse fire.
Speaking to Express, Sudha said, “I saw the kids screaming for help, went inside the bus and rescued them.”
The driver has been taken into custody. “The driver could have rescued the children, but he did not. The bus did not even have an emergency exit,” she added.
A police officer said no case has been registered as nobody was injured in the incident.