Lucky escape for 17 kids after bus catches fire in Kerala's Alappuzha

KOTTAYAM: As many as 17 students of Sree Bhuvaneswari English Medium High School at Mannar had a lucky escape after the bus in which they were travelling caught fire at Chengannur in Alappuzha on Friday morning. The fire broke out around 8.45am near Kochuthengilppady along Aala-Pennukkara Temple Road.
Driver Sreekumar and helper immediately evacuated the students from the bus as they noticed smoke emanating from the front side of the vehicle.The students were safely moved to a nearby house. The attempt to extinguish fire using fire extinguishers in the bus and the one provided by a resident failed.
By the time, the fire and rescue unit from Chengannur extinguished the fire, the bus was completely gutted. Senior RTO officials inspected the bus. Short circuit is suspected as the reason for the fire. The bus had a fitness certificate till 2025.