School bus, Janrath catch fire in separate incidents in Lucknow; 5-year-old boy hurt

“The children, aged between four and eight years, were evacuated after flames broke out from the engine. During the evacuation, the hand of a five-year-old boy came into contact with the hot engine bonnet, leaving him injured,” a police officer said.

Two buses, including one carrying 25 schoolchildren, caught fire at separate locations in the state capital early Saturday. A five-year-old boy suffered burns when his hand touched the hot engine bonnet while he was being evacuated from the school bus in Itaunja, while a Janrath AC roadways bus was damaged after hitting a flyover divider in Para, officials said.

The Janrath bus that caught fire on Hardoi-Kanpur highway. (Sourced)

The school bus (UP81 BT6203) caught fire near Bagha Purwa in Itaunja while ferrying students from Jamkhanwa village to a school in Manpur in the morning, police said.

“The children, aged between four and eight years, were evacuated after flames broke out from the engine. During the evacuation, the hand of a five-year-old boy came into contact with the hot engine bonnet, leaving him injured,” a police officer said.

The boy was rushed to the Itaunja primary health centre and later taken home by his family after treatment, police said, adding that the other children were safe and no other injuries were reported.

Hours earlier, around 12.30am, a Janrath AC bus (UP25 FT9230) caught fire near Utkarsh Lawn on the Hardoi-Kanpur Ring Road after reportedly hitting a flyover divider near Bhapatamau, officials said.

Firefighters searched the bus after dousing the flames but found no one trapped inside. While fire officials said they could not immediately ascertain the details of the driver, conductor or passengers as none was present when they arrived, police said their preliminary inquiry suggested that the driver and conductor were inside the bus when the accident occurred but escaped unhurt.

Police and fire officials were investigating the circumstances of the incident and the cause of the blaze.

Meanwhile, the owner of the contracted bus said he had sought termination of the agreement, citing the vehicle’s poor condition. In a letter to the Alambagh depot, the owner said the bus could not operate on September 12 after its windshield was damaged.

He also said he had already served a three-month notice for termination of the contract, which expires on September 22. The owner said the vehicle would be repaired if possible, but sought termination of the agreement and an NOC if it could not be made roadworthy before the notice period ended.