The axle holding all four rear wheels of a school bus came off here on Tuesday morning while it was carrying students of a private English medium school.

The students didn’t suffer injuries as the bus that was moving slowly stopped after a few metres with only two wheels in the front.

The incident occurred on Burdwan Road, a prominent thoroughfare in Siliguri.

Officials of Siliguri Metropolitan Police reached the spot. The students were shifted to another vehicle as the police inspected the severed axle and the wheels, and the bus.

The incident led to questions over the fitness of buses that carry schoolchildren in and around Siliguri.

The bus with six to seven students was heading to the school near Fulbari around 8am. The bus was hired by the school.

While crossing Jalpai More, a popular crossing on Burdwan Road, the rear axle all of a sudden severed from the bus.

“After the rear wheels came off, the back portion of the bus fell onto the road, and the vehicle was dragged by the front wheels up to a few metres. The driver then managed to stop the bus,” said a resident who witnessed the incident.

He pointed out that at that time, vehicular movement was comparatively less in the area. “Or else, the bus might have rammed into another vehicle, or some other vehicle might have been hit by the broken axle and wheels,” he added.

Those present at the spot rushed to rescue the students. Along with them, the driver and an attendant were also taken out. In due course, they were sent to the school in another vehicle.

The police brought a recovery van, to which the axle was shifted. The bus was also hauled away from the spot.

“We have initiated a probe to find out whether the incident occurred because of a lack of proper maintenance of the vehicle or a technical glitch,” said Biswachand Thakur, the deputy commissioner (traffic), SMP.

No arrests or detentions have been made in connection with the incident, police sources said.