Karachi: Six students were burnt to death in a horrific fire that broke out in a school van in the early hours of the morning in Shahr-e-Quaid.
The incident that occurred in the Nazimabad area on Monday morning terrified citizens, but the timely action of the locals prevented a major tragedy from happening.
According to reports, a school van suddenly caught fire in a street near Quba Mosque in the Nazimabad No. 3 area while several children were aboard. Within moments, the van was engulfed in flames, and the area echoed with the screams of children.
Eyewitnesses said that the incident took place at around 7:45 am. The van had arrived to pick up the children as usual, and the two girls were about to board when suddenly smoke rose from the vehicle, and it immediately caught fire. The flames spread before the driver could control himself. Meanwhile, the neighborhood watchman raised a noise and attracted the attention of the local people, and dozens of people immediately rushed to the scene.
Residents, with their help, opened the doors of the school van and started pulling the children out, in which women also participated actively. Some people tried to put out the fire by attaching pipes to their water motors, while many people picked up the burnt children in their laps and put them on motorcycles and immediately took them to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
Six children were injured in the accident, including Dawood Muzammil, Eshal Muzammil, Zaid Noman, Ali Adnan, and driver Muhammad Shiraz. The two children who were burned are siblings. After first aid, the injured children were shifted to the burns ward of the Civil Hospital, where the condition of 9-year-old Eshal is said to be critical.
According to residents, the fire brigade and police did not reach the spot in time, and if the locals had not taken immediate action, it would not have been possible to save the life of any child in the van. It was not initially confirmed whether there was a cylinder in the van or a petrol bottle that helped fuel the fire.
