41 Virginia student-athletes escape bus before explosion

Published Feb. 4, 2019 9:20 a.m. ET

WILSON, N.C. (AP) — Dozens of athletes from a Virginia college were able to evacuate a charter bus before it exploded in North Carolina.

News outlets cite a statement from Wilson County Emergency Management that says 41 track and field athletes from Hampton University were traveling home on Saturday night from a meet at the University of South Carolina when the bus went up in flames.

The release says the bus driver "did an excellent job" evacuating the students before the bus exploded. Wilson County Emergency Management Director Gordon Deno said it took about 30 minutes to extinguish the fire, as around 100 gallons of diesel fuel burned .

The students were taken to a high school, where they waited for a new bus.

University spokesman Jim Heath says the team reached home early Sunday.