Bus engulfed in flames at Helidon
IT IS a miracle no one was killed after a passenger bus was engulfed by fire on the Warrego Highway at Helidon this afternoon.
Gatton
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UPDATE Wednesday Nov 20 10.15am
A bus driver suffered burns to his hands when a bus was engulfed by flames on the Warrego Highway west of Brisbane yesterday
The 45-year-old male bus driver was left nursing burns after the back of the Stonestreet's Coaches bus caught fire on the highway near Helidon about 2.15pm.
The bus was heading from Toowoomba to Brisbane when the driver noticed smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle.
All 25 passengers on board the bus at the time managed to escape before the vehicle was engulfed by flames.
The bus driver was taken by ambulance to Gatton Hospital for treatment.
Stonestreet's Coaches owner Phil Stonestreet said his injuries were sustained when trying to open a door to the engine bay.
"At that stage, apart from the smoke, they didn't realise the severity of it," Mr Stonestreet said.
He said the driver was a little shaken up after bringing the coach to rest at the intersection of Kellys Rd at Helidon.
"I've got to praise the driver for getting it off the road where it was safe."
Two passengers were treated by paramedics at the scene for minor burns.
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Tuesday Nov 19 3pm
IT IS a miracle no one was killed after a passenger bus was engulfed by fire on the Warrego Highway at Helidon this afternoon.
There were about 20 passengers on the bus when it went up in flames.
Amazingly there is only one report of injuries in the blaze.
Emergency services arrived after 2pm at the eastbound lanes near the Helendale Dr intersection. to find the bus "fully engulfed".
Both eastbound lanes are now closed.
There will be long delays this afternoon for anyone travelling east from Toowoomba.
Emergency services will be on scene for several hours cleaning up.
The accident happened only hours after a truck carrying urea caught fire on the up-section of the Toowoomba Range.
The truck was engulfed but the driver escaped without injury.
The up-section of the highway was closed as emergency services dealt with the accident.
Originally published as Bus engulfed in flames at Helidon
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