Bus carrying school children engulfed in fireball as a thick plume of smoke closes East London street
20 January 2023, 16:11 | Updated: 20 January 2023, 16:16
A bus carrying school children was engulfed in a fireball on Friday morning, closing a residential road in East London and damaging nearby vehicles and buildings.
The blaze, which broke out on Wilton Way near London Fields, East London, saw 42 999 calls made by members of the public to emergency services.
A thick plume of smoke could be seen for miles around when the 30 seater bus set ablaze just before 8:13am.
All children were evacuated from the vehicle prior to the arrival of the London Fire Brigade according to reports.
London Fire Brigade have since confirmed six other vehicles were damaged during the blaze, as well as nearby buildings.
Hackney council said in a statement earlier today: "This morning a fire broke out on a school bus in Hackney. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.
"All the children were evacuated with no injuries & a replacement bus was organised to deliver them to school."
The incident follows spate of bus fires across East London in recent weeks, with Met Police currently appealing for information in their hunt for the arsonist.
Vehicle fire earlier Whiston Road #hackney prompt action by @LFB_HACKNEY protecting local properties . Road closures and thick smoke. Hope nobody hurt pic.twitter.com/rwepBTEhD1
— Lundun Feeldz (@LundunFeeldz) January 20, 2023
Today's unrelated incident saw LFB take to Twitter to update the public on the incident.
Early on Friday morning they wrote: "Firefighters tackled this bus fire in Wilton Way in #Hackney this morning."
"Six other vehicles were also damaged. Our 999 Control Officers took 42 calls. Thankfully, there have been no reports of injuries."
