Jonathan Bell

Senator Michael Fahy issued a “profound apology” after fire yesterday engulfed a bus that had been carrying Warwick Academy and Somersfield Academy students to school.

The transport minister, whose children attend Somersfield, said one other vehicle has been withdrawn from service as precaution because of the incident, and that an engineer from the manufacturer was due on

the island last night to inspect the fleet.

Both vehicles were dated to 2002, and Mr Fahy stressed that the other buses in use remained safe, telling The Royal Gazette that an investigation had been launched and he hoped to receive a preliminary accident report on Friday.

“The students are to be commended for acting quickly, safely and calmly, and following the driver’s instructions,” he added.

“The first thing the driver did was get everybody off the bus. I understand that he saw the fire and used a fire extinguisher to try and put it out.”

The blaze took several minutes to gain strength.

Buses are often taken off the road for maintenance, but Mr Fahy said it was typically for minor works such as tyre rotations, or damage on the level of a broken window.

“We’ve had some issues with the air conditioning on the 2014 series — we have a technician in Bermuda now giving extra training to our mechanics, to make sure they’re able to take care of it.

“We have a major budget allocation for parts for refurbishment, and we anticipate with the training and spare parts that we will be in a really good operational state for the America’s Cup, but that does not take away from what happened this morning.”

Mr Fahy spoke to principals and e-mailed parents at both schools, offering a “profound apology” on the ministry’s behalf.

“I understand how frightening it must have been for the students who experienced this and I understand they were very brave and handled the matter incredibly well,” he told Somersfield parents. The minister, who was away on government business, vowed to keep parents updated, adding: “I am obviously distressed about this morning’s events.”