A bus transporting an Iowa minor league baseball team to their next game in Illinois went up in flames shortly before 3 a.m. Friday.
Volunteer firefighters in Earlham, Iowa said the charter bus that was carrying the Sioux City Explorers experienced mechanical issues that began in the vehicle’s engine compartment and soon spread to the passenger section.
The players managed to exit the bus without injury, but the vehicle itself was a “total loss,” the fire department said, sharing photos of the back half of the bus completed charred.
State Representative J.D. Scholten, who also pitches for the Sioux City Explorers, said on Facebook the team was heading to a game in Kane County, Illinois when the trouble occurred.
“Minor league bus trips are notorious for bus issues,” he wrote, alongside photos of the burned-out bus. “Huge shout out to the Earlham Fire Department.”
The highway around where the blaze occurred was closed for roughly three hours, the fire department said. The Explorers were back on the road in a new bus by around 5:45 a.m., reported KTIV.