Panic in London on Friday as a 30-seater school bus with children inside burst into flames.
Firefighters rushed to the scene in a residential street in Hackney this morning, where six other vehicles were also damaged.
Shocking footage shows the bus engulfed in bright orange flames with thick plumes of grey smoke filling the air around it and nearby car alarms sounding
Further video shows the devastating remains of the burnt-out bus after the flames were put out, surrounded by charred debris. The clip shows a number of cars in the vicinity destroyed.
All the children were led to safety during the incident and there have been no reports of injuries.
A small part of several surrounding properties were also damaged by the blaze, the fire service said.
A witness who lives nearby said she was alerted to the fire at about 8.15am.
‘We’re familiar with the school bus because it goes past our house every day. We then saw streams of photos letting us know that the bus was on fire,’ she said.
‘All the children were taken off very quickly, that’s everyone’s main concern.
‘And I believe it was put out rather quickly, however, the damage in that short amount of time is enormous – cars are beyond repair and people’s windows have smashed in their homes.’
She said as soon as the bonnet caught fire, everyone was evacuated off the bus – and she believes people were also evacuated from their houses.
‘This morning a fire broke out on a school bus in Hackney. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined,’ Hackney Council has tweeted.
‘All the children were evacuated with no injuries & a replacement bus was organised to deliver them to school.
‘Thank you @MPSHackney & @LondonFire for the quick response.’
London Fire Brigade tweeted: ‘Firefighters tackled this bus fire in Wilton Way in #Hackney this morning.
‘Six other vehicles were also damaged. Our 999 Control Officers took 42 calls.
‘Thankfully, there have been no reports of injuries.’
The Brigade was called at 08.13 and the fire was under control by 09.20. Firefighters from Bethnal Green Fire Station were at the scene.