3rd DPS School Bus Caught Fire In 5 Months

HYDERABAD: A school bus belonging to Delhi Public School (DPS), Nadergul campus, caught fire near the Jalpally-Laxmiguda road in Mailardevpally on Wednesday afternoon. Fortunately, no casualties were reported. According to Chandrayangutta fire officer S. Srikanth, the control room received a distress call at around 2.59 pm. A fire tender was rushed to the spot, and the blaze was extinguished within 20 minutes. However, by then the bus had been completely gutted.

Preliminary inquiries revealed that the bus had broken down earlier in the day while dropping students off at home. The driver, Hari Prasad, arranged for another vehicle to ensure all children reached home safely before staying back with the damaged bus. A mechanic was called to repair the fault, and after resuming movement, the driver noticed smoke coming from the engine.

He immediately parked the bus by the roadside and, on closer inspection, saw flames erupting from the engine compartment. He quickly alerted the fire department. “The fire appears to have been caused by an electrical short circuit,” officer Srikanth said. Mailardevpally police said no formal complaint had been received so far, and a case had not yet been registered. Further investigation is underway.

This is the third incident in recent months involving a DPS school bus catching fire. On October 9, a bus carrying 14 students from DPS Dulapally caught fire near the Secunderabad Cantonment area. Earlier, on July 10, another bus from DPS Sangareddy was gutted in a similar manner, though in both cases, all students escaped unhurt.

Officials from the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) are expected to examine the incident to determine whether the bus had any prior mechanical or electrical issues.