16 students have narrow escape after Airoli school bus catches fire in Thane

Sixteen students of New Horizon School, Airoli, Navi Mumbai, had a narrow escape on Monday after their school bus caught fire at Teen Hath Naka in Thane; the students from Classes 1 to 3 were in the bus along with two bus attendants; Thane traffic police immediately rescued the children and doused the fire

Sixteen students of New Horizon School, Airoli, Navi Mumbai, had a narrow escape on Monday after their school bus caught fire at Teen Hath Naka in Thane. The students from Classes 1 to 3 were in the bus along with two bus attendants.

Thane traffic police douse fire using a water pipe after the New Horizon Public School, Airoli, Navi Mumbai, caught a minor fire at Teen Hath Naka in Thane on Monday. (PRAFUL GANGURDE/HT PHOTO)

The Thane traffic police immediately rescued the children and doused the fire. The incident occurred at 1.50pm when the bus was going to school to drop the children.

Shrikant Shinde, senior police inspector, Thane traffic, said, “There was a glitch in the bus engine that led to the fire. As soon as the bus driver and our traffic police noticed it, we parked the bus at a corner of Teen Hath Naka junction and evacuated all the children from the bus and called the fire brigade officials. Meanwhile, we started dousing the fire with a water pipe. The children were later sent by another private bus with their attendants.”

While all children were safe, the fire brigade officials with one fire engine and a rescue vehicle reached the spot and doused the fire. According to the Regional Disaster Management Cell, the fire was minor. It was doused in 15 to 20 minutes.

The school principal was unavailable for comment.