Chennai: Panic gripped Kovur near Kundrathur on Tuesday evening after a school bus carrying students caught fire near a gas filling station. However, all the children were safely evacuated before flames spread and gas station employees helped extinguish the fire using extinguishers.According to sources, a private school in Kovur operates buses to transport students to and from the campus. On Tuesday, a private school bus in Kovur was bringing students to the school when smoke began emanating from the front portion of the vehicle as it neared Kovur.The driver immediately pulled the bus over to the roadside and evacuated all students. Soon after, the front portion of the bus caught fire.As the incident occurred opposite a gas filling station, employees at the station rushed to the spot and assisted in moving the children to safety. They then used fire extinguishers to put out the blaze before it could spread further. All the students escaped unhurt. The school later arranged another vehicle to transport the children to the campus. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
