Published Nov 08, 2026 | 6:45 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 08, 2026 | 6:45 PM
Local residents arranged food and temporary accommodation for the group at a nearby orphanage.
Synopsis: A tourist bus carrying 45 students from a school in Ottapalam, Palakkad, caught fire after a tyre burst at Devadanapatti in Tamil Nadu’s Theni district around 11 am on Sunday. All 45 students, three teachers and a parent escaped unharmed, though several bags and personal belongings were destroyed. Local residents arranged food and temporary accommodation for the group, while the travel agency provided a replacement bus for their return.
A tourist bus carrying 45 students of Varode KPSMM Vocational Higher Secondary School in Ottapalam in Keralam’s Palakkad, caught fire following a tyre burst at Devadanapatti in Theni district, Tamil Nadu, around 11 am on Sunday, 8 November.
All 45 students, three teachers and a parent escaped unharmed. However, several bags and personal belongings were destroyed in the fire.
The group had left Ottapalam around 4 am on Saturday for a two-day trip to Kodaikanal and was travelling to Munnar when the incident occurred. The driver stopped the bus immediately after the tyre burst, allowing everyone to evacuate before the flames engulfed the vehicle.
Police and Fire and Rescue Services personnel reached the spot.
Local residents arranged food and temporary accommodation for the group at a nearby orphanage, while the travel agency arranged a replacement bus for their return to Ottapalam.
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(Edited by Dese Gowda)
