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Students look on as bus 'explodes' - pictures and VIDEO
These were the dramatic scenes after a double decker bus burst into flames, sparking chaos outside a Lancashire college.
Scores of students were hurriedly evacuated from Runshaw College's main Langdale Road campus in Leyland as the drama unfolded.
It is believed an electrical engine fault on the Arriva bus sparked smoke and then a huge fire which engulfed most of the vehicle in just three minutes.
Firefighters said a second bus behind the first had also started to catch fire as they arrived.
Only the actions of a quick-thinking driver to move the vehicle stopped that bus catching fire too and leading to a potentially devastating incident.
Amazingly, no one was injured in the incident which unfolded at around 4.30pm on Thursday.
But it sparked chaos outside the college as dozens of buses and cars arrived to pick students up as the fire was taking hold on Thursday afternoon.
Police were forced to close off Langdale Road and Worden Lane, causing huge tailbacks and meltdown in Leyland town centre.
The closure meant town centre ground to a halt, with queueing traffic back as far as the town centre McDonald's.
Some buses waiting to take students home were blocked in behind the one which was on fire while others had to be redirected to park close to Worden Hall at Worden Lane.
Staff members were seen directing students to their buses using megaphones outside the college.
One A-level student at the college, Elliot Cornelius, 16, from Eccleston, near Chorley, was coming out of the main building at 4.26pm on Thursday when he was confronted with the incident.
He said: "They evacuated us on to Langdale Road. They evacuated the area quite quickly.
"It was quite dramatic, there must have been half the college watching. We were all surrounding it but we were at a safe distance."
Another A-level student, Desiree McClelland, 16, from Darwen, was on the bus behind the one that caught fire.
She said: "When someone said it was on fire I thought they were joking and then I just saw all the smoke. It was a shock.
"There were lots of rumours going around but I don't know what caused it."
NVQ student Katie Eames, 19, from Fulwood, was on a bus four behind the one on fire.
She said: "I saw loads of smoke at first then all of a sudden it caught fire. It was better than any bonfire.
"People were just trying to take photos and video instead of getting themselves to safety so it was quite chaotic."
Crew manager Chris Blackburn said: "We are still leaving the cause as unknown for further investigations by the police.
"But the driver suspects an engine electrical problem.
"It was an unexpected fire to see a bus well alight in such a short space of time. We spoke to the driver when he first saw smoke and when we got there it was 50% destroyed by fire. That was about three minutes.
"It was a good stop thanks to the quick thinking actions of drivers and the fire service.
"The buses were so tightly packed together it could have affected a number of buses. It could have potentially been a very, very serious fire."
Firefighters were called to the campus in Leyland at 4.26pm on Thursday.
Two crews, one from Leyland and one from Bamber Bridge, battled for 90 minutes to douse the flames.
Bamber Bridge crew manager Rob Harvey said: "It was a double decker bus involved in the fire in a stack of buses and it was spreading on to a second bus."
"It caused major traffic congestion.
"The investigation is ongoing with the police and college and the bus driver."
He added that the area was fully evacuated and no one was injured.
A Lancashire police spokesman said extra patrol cars were being sent to the scene after police were notified of the fire at 4.28pm.
Langdale Road re-opened at 5.45pm and Worden Lane was due to re-open a short time later.
See The Evening Post on Friday for exclusive pictures and comments from eyewitnesses
Do you have pictures or video of the bus on fire? Call our newsdesk on (01772) 838107
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Tuesday 07 February 2012
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