Alert driver evacuates 21 kids before school bus catches fire in Delhi

The driver of a private bus ferrying 21 school children back to their homes in Rohini saved their lives before the vehicle caught fire on Thursday, officials said

The driver of a private bus ferrying 21 school children back to their homes in Rohini saved their lives before the vehicle caught fire on Thursday, officials said.

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Sanjay Solanki, 32, a resident of Pooth Khurd, said that he was driving the children (who are students of classes 4 to 9) back to their homes-- mostly in sectors 23 and 24 -- but by the time they reached Sector 7, he smelt something burning. “Without waiting a second, I stopped the bus in the middle of the road. I didn’t even take the time to park it on the roadside because did not want to risk the children’s lives,” he said.

Solanki said he evacuated all the children one by one and had just walked the last one out when the underside of the bus caught fire. In no time, the entire vehicle was aflame, he said.

Solanki then called the fire brigade and calmed the children down. “Some of them were very scared and wanted to speak to their parents so I called them. Some parents also came to the spot,” he said. The driver then arranged another vehicle and ensured he dropped the remaining children home safely.

Delhi Fire Services director Atul Garg said they received a call about a school bus catching fire around 2.14pm. “Three fire tenders were pressed into service and doused the fire immediately. At the spot, we found the vehicle was ferrying 21 students of Bal Bharti Public School. All the children and the driver safely escaped from the bus,” Garg said.

Deputy commissioner of police (Rohini) Pranav Tayal said that police too reached the spot and controlled a crowd that had gathered.

Solanki said he has been ferrying school children in his private CNG vehicle --with valid documents -- for the last four-five years.

Meanwhile, Geeta Gangwani, principal of Bal Bharati Public School, Rohini, said that the vehicle was neither owned nor operated by the school. “The parents had made some private arrangement. As a school, we follow all standard operating procedures for transportation,” Gangwani said.