About 30 elementary students were aboard the tourist bus that caught on fire on Monday morning in Quezon City, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said.
According to the initial report of the MMDA, a Kings Coach tourist bus with plate number ACD-6627, was traversing the southbound section of C5 – Kalayaan Avenue.
The report also said that the fire started at around 11:18 a.m and was declared fire out at 11:33 a.m
In a text message sent to INQUIRER.net, Bong Nebrija, MMDA Operations Commander said that a total of 34 individuals were inside the bus when the incident happened.
Despite this, all 30 students and 4 teachers were safe from injuries. Initial investigation showed that the cause of fire was “electrical failure.”
“Nailabas on time yung mga bata at nasa tabi lang ng kalsada,” Nebrija said.
(The children were taken out of the bus just in time, which was just at the side of the road.)
Nebrija also said that the students were from Father Michael Donoher Memorial School from Silang Cavite and were in Manila for an educational field trip.
He then advised bus drivers to always check the roadworthiness of their buses before starting their trips to ensure the safety of their passengers.
“They need to make sure that their buses are roadworthy considering that they are conveying passengers, particularly innocent kids,” he said. /je