KOCHI:A van, which has been used for transporting schoolchildren, caught fire at Thoppumpady here around 8:40 am on Friday. Luckily, no casualties were reported as there were no passengers in the vehicle.
According to Thoppumpady police, the van was being driven by its owner Lawrence at the time of incident.The police said a major tragedy was averted as the accident occurred when there were no children in the vehicle.“The van caught fire while returning after dropping children at Kendriya Vidyalaya. 14 children used to travel in the van to school every day. The initial inquiry showed that the fire occurred after Lawrence changed the vehicle’s fuel mode from ‘petrol’ to ‘CNG’ on MLA Road. When he started the vehicle after the procedure, it caught fire. Lawrence, however, escaped unhurt,” said the Police.
The Thoppumpady sub-inspector told ‘Express’ that a major tragedy was averted as there were no passengers in the van.
He said a directive had been issued to keep a tab on private vehicles transporting schoolchildren.