A bus from Florida International University (FIU) caught fire on Monday around 5:30 p.m. near the exit for 107th Avenue on the Dolphin Expressway.
A video shared by the news site Only in Dade showed the rear of the vehicle engulfed in flames, with black smoke rising into the air.
Fortunately, the 20 students and the driver who were traveling on the bus were able to evacuate safely, according to authorities from FIU who spoke to NBC Miami.
The university sent another bus to pick up the passengers. The affected vehicle suffered significant damage due to the fire, the cause of which is still unknown.
This incident adds to other recent cases of student transportation buses that have caught fire in Florida.
In February 2024, a bus carrying 47 sixth-grade students from Seminole Middle School in Plantation caught fire on the Turnpike near Port St. Lucie while returning from a field trip to SeaWorld Orlando.
Although the rear of the bus was consumed by flames, all the occupants were evacuated safely.
Another incident occurred in the same month when a school bus carrying 42 children and 2 adults caught fire in Miami during a school trip to SeaWorld. Fortunately, there were no injuries in this case either.
Related to these incidents is the tragic event in March 2018, when a pedestrian bridge under construction near the FIU campus collapsed, resulting in the death of six people and several others injured.
These events highlight the importance of conducting regular inspections and maintaining strict safety protocols for school transport vehicles and infrastructure to prevent tragedies.
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