A major tragedy was today averted when ten children, who were being ferried in a school van, were quickly moved out of the vehicle after it caught fire, police said.
The incident took place at around noon and the children were students of Ramachandra Rathi School.
The driver, Sanjay Tharkude, after detecting smoke emanating from under his seat, immediately evacuated the children. Soon after all the children stepped out unhurt, the van was completely gutted in fire, Alankar Police station officials said.
Talking to PTI, Tharkude said, "After picking up a child from a house, I started the van, however, upon driving little ahead, I found smoke emanating from under the seat. I immediately pulled over the van and evacuated all the kids and kept them at safe distance."
The people around called up the fire brigade, but by the time the personnel reached the vehicle was up in smokes and
"Soon after the children stepped out, the van was gutted in fire completely," he said.
A fire brigade official said, "The van was damaged in the fire completely and prima facie there seems to be a technical snag."
Police added that they are investigating the exact cause behind the incident.
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