A group of Te Awamutu mates are receiving VIP treatment after their bus caught fire on the way to Anzac Day commemorations in Gallipoli.
Forty-five passengers were making their way from Izmir about five hours from Anzac Cove, when the engine on their bus started to smoke.
Among them was Jamie Macdonald, James Hilhorst, Logan Parker, Cameron Weston and John Cudby - all from Te Awamutu.
Macdonald told the Te Awamutu Courier the bus was travelling up a long hill and struggling with the heavy load.