Minor girl, driver injured as school van catches fire in Karachi

KARACHI:  A minor girl and her van driver were injured on Friday when their school van caught fire, reported ARY News.

Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Korangi, Ali Raza, relayed that rest of the children remained unharmed in the unfortunate incident.

“School bags of several students were burnt inside the van,” he added. “Police responded to the scene immediately.”

It is pertinent to mention here that a day earlier, school van drivers in Karachi announced to go on a strike until their demands are accepted.

This was the second time that drivers of the School and Colleges’ Vans’ Associations resorted to a call for strike.

They had first announced to keep their vehicles off the roads on Jan 10 due to the government’s crackdown on vehicles using unsafe CNG cylinders. The association had stated that they won’t offer pick and drop services to children until their demands were accepted.

Crackdown on school vans

It is pertinent to note that the crackdown on school vans with CNG cylinders began on Jan 7 after the directives of Karachi Traffic Police Chief Javed Ali Mehar who expressed concern about the safety of school children.