Kota Itawa School Bus Fire, Rajasthan: Bus Burns Out Minutes After 30 to 35 Children Got Off, No Casualties Reported; Short Circuit Believed, Not Confirmed

What happened

A private school bus caught fire and burned out in Sarovar Nagar, on Khatoli Road in Itawa (also spelt Etawa) town, Kota district, Rajasthan, on the morning of Thursday, 29 October 2026. Rajasthan Patrika and ETV Bharat both report that the bus had already taken the children to school and that no one was hurt. ETV Bharat quotes the Itawa municipality’s fireman in-charge as saying the bus had brought 30 to 35 children from Keshavpura, Rajopa and other places, that the children had gone into the school and that the bus was standing when flames came from near the engine within a few minutes. Patrika quotes the school’s operator as saying the bus reached the school at about 8 am and that the fire began at about 8.40 am, with no child or other person on board. Checked on 3 November 2026; the reports we could open were published on 29 October and none gives a confirmed cause.

Both reports say the fire spread to the whole bus very quickly. Local people tried to put it out with pipes, according to ETV Bharat, and with water from tubewells, according to Patrika, but could not, and the municipality’s fire tender put it out after the bus had burned out. Patrika says the fire began near the driver’s seat.

Where the reports agree, and where they do not

• Casualties: none in either report. The children had got off a few minutes earlier.
• Day: ETV Bharat, published on 29 October, says Thursday morning. Patrika’s text says Wednesday, although a news-search listing shows it was carried on the morning of 29 October. We use Thursday, 29 October, which fits ETV Bharat’s own publication date and the video reports (all uploaded on 29 October).
• Where the bus was: parked at the school campus (ETV Bharat) or on the main road (Patrika).
• Where the fire began: near the engine (ETV Bharat) or near the driver’s seat (Patrika).
• Cause: ETV Bharat says a short circuit in the wiring is believed to be the cause; Patrika says the cause is not known. Neither is a finding.
• Time: about 8.40 am (Patrika) or about 8.45 am (ETV Bharat, from the fire officer).

What is not known

• The cause, and whether anyone has examined the wiring, the battery or the fuel system.
• Whether the bus had a valid fitness certificate, a working fire extinguisher and a first-aid box, as school-bus rules in many states require. No report says.
• Whether the driver or an attendant was nearby, and how many people were close to the bus when the fire started.
• Whether the school or the transport department has ordered a check of other buses.

Why a school bus fire with no injuries still matters

The fire started a few minutes after about 30 to 35 children left the bus. A fire that starts while they are still on board, on a rural road, is a very different event. A school bus is a government-regulated vehicle that carries children every day, and a fire that burns it out in minutes shows how little time there is to get children off. We have reported other bus fires, including the Balod bus fire, in which a bus carrying firecrackers burned and all passengers escaped, the Bhopal ISBT bus fire and the Midnapore bus stand fire, and a school bus overturning in Rohta, Meerut. Our blog on what to do when a school bus has a safety defect explains how a parent or a school can report it. The Kota safety guide lists local emergency numbers; Itawa lies about 60 km from the city.

What schools, drivers and parents can do

These are general practices, not a finding about what happened in Itawa.

• Check the wiring and the engine bay regularly. Frayed wires, a loose battery terminal or a leaking pipe are common starting points for a vehicle fire. See can a short circuit cause a fire.
• Carry a charged fire extinguisher in the driver’s reach and teach the driver and attendant to use it. Check the date on the gauge every term.
• Do not leave a bus with a defect in service. Burning smells, smoke, a blown fuse or a hot dashboard mean stop the bus and report it, before the next trip.
• Practise getting off the bus. Run an emergency drill with the children: how the door and the emergency exit open, and how to leave in a line without bags.
• If a bus catches fire with children on board, stop, switch off the engine, get the children out and away from the bus before trying to fight the fire, and call 112 or 101. Our emergency numbers guide explains which number to call.
• Keep parked buses away from buildings and from each other where a fire could spread to a school block or to other vehicles.