ISLAMABAD: At least 11 school-going children were injured after a school van veered off the road and caught fire in Murree on Tuesday, police said.
As per a statement from Murree police, the incident occurred near the Bara Hotar Link Road, where a Suzuki Bolan carrying school children veered off the road and caught fire.
“Upon receiving news of the incident, police and rescue teams immediately arrived at the scene,” it said, adding that the children were rescued and rushed to the Civil Hospital Murree.
Murree police said a total of 11 children were brought, out of which eight remained in stable condition. However, three children suffered severe burn injuries, with one sustaining burns to 42 per cent of the body, while the other two suffered burns to 38pc and 26pc, respectively, it added.
Police said the cause of the incident had not yet been ascertained and that necessary legal action would be taken.
According to the statement, Murree District Police Officer Raza Tanveer Sipra visited the hospital to inquire after the injured children.
“We are maintaining constant contact to ensure the provision of the best possible medical care to the injured children and treatment for those who have been referred,” DPO Sipra was quoted as saying.
In an earlier statement, Rescue 1122 said that passengers, mostly schoolchildren, were safely evacuated from the vehicle and sustained only minor injuries. However, the vehicle was engulfed in flames.
The passengers were aged between four and 14.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz sought a report into the incident and took notice of the “vehicle overloading and lack of adequate fire safety measures”, state broadcaster PTV reported.
Earlier this year, eight students were injured when a school van caught fire while moving along Karachi’s Shah Faisal Colony flyover. In February, a schoolgirl was killed, and six others were injured when their van was hit by a dumper in Okara.
In March, two teenage sisters in Karachi died after suffering burn wounds when a fire erupted in their family van.
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