Eight children of Kalpataru Central School narrowly escaped death after the vehicle ferrying them home suddenly caught fire in Tiptur on Monday evening.
Rangaswamy, the driver of the Maruthi van by which the children were travelling, stopped the vehicle as soon as he noticed fire in the vehicle. He immediately helped all the children get down from the vehicle. The van was reduced to ashes in no time. None of the students was injured in the accident. However, the school bags of three-four children were burnt in the fire.
Police said that it could have been a major accident if the LPG cylinder installed in the van had exploded. They suspected a short circuit or gas leakage could have triggered the fire.