School bus gutted in fire near Kaiveli in Velachery

A private school bus caught fire and was completely gutted near Kaiveli in Velachery on the Velachery-Tambaram road on Thursday evening, July 16, 2026. No students or staff members were on board the vehicle at the time of the incident, and no injuries were reported.

The driver of the private school bus, identified by the police as Ravi of Pallikaranai, had dropped off the students after completing his scheduled trips for the day. He was driving the bus back to Pallikaranai when the incident occurred.

While driving along the Velachery-Tambaram road, Ravi noticed smoke billowing from the engine of the bus. He immediately pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road and got out to inspect the engine compartment.

Before any action could be taken to contain it, the flames spread rapidly from the engine and fully engulfed the bus. Local firemen rushed to the spot after receiving information about the blaze and worked to extinguish the fire.

Although the firemen managed to put out the flames, the vehicle was completely destroyed. The incident caused a temporary disruption to the flow of traffic on the busy stretch of road.

According to the traffic police, the fire and the subsequent emergency response caused traffic congestion in the area for approximately 10 minutes. Normal traffic flow on the Velachery-Tambaram road resumed only after the gutted bus was successfully removed from the road.

Preliminary inquiries conducted by the authorities indicated that the fire may have originated within the engine compartment, though the precise cause remains under investigation. The local police are currently investigating the incident to determine what triggered the fire.