Narrow escape for students as school bus catches fire in Pune

Pune: At least 15 students on board a school bus had a narrow escape after the vehicle caught fire in Kharadi area of Maharashtra's Pune city on Thursday, officials said.

The incident took place in Tulja Bhavani Nagar locality in the afternoon when students were being dropped home after the school hours, a fire brigade official said.

"The driver was carrying the students in the school bus when around 2.45 pm he noticed smoke billowing from the vehicle. He immediately stopped the bus and with the help of residents, made the students get off it. After students alighted from the bus, the driver tried to extinguish the fire and smoke but the bus caught fire and completely gutted," he said.

Fire tenders reached the spot and doused the blaze, he said, adding that nobody was injured in the incident.

Prima facie, the blaze erupted due to a short-circuit. But the exact reason is being ascertained, the official said.