Driver and conductor severely injured, 16 school kids hurt as speeding bus fails to dodge underpass pillar
Eighteen people including 16 children were injured after a speeding private school bus rammed into a pillar at an underpass at Rajnigandha Chowk near Noida sector 16 metro station.
According to police, the incident took place at around 8 am on Saturday. The bus was traveling towards the school when it crossed the underpass at the Rajnigandha Chowk. The speeding bus tried dodging the pillar in the underpass but failed, leaving the driver and the conductor severely injured, along with the school children.
Mahender Kumar, the uncle of one of the injured kids, Roshni, said she received six stitches on her head and the doctor also wanted to do a surgery. "Her father is in Assam for office work and mother is in shock after she saw her daughter in this condition," Kumar said.
"16 children got injured in the incident. They were taken to the Kailash Hospital and discharged after first aid. The driver of the bus, Ganga Saran, has received severe injuries and is being treated," Inspector Manoj Kumar Pant, Station House Officer, Sector 20, said. The driver has been admitted to ICU.
Locals claim that there was construction or renovation work in progress in the underpass, and the board citing diversion was put up very close to the diversion, which made diverting tough at the very last minute.
"I travel every day to Film City and on many occasions have found it difficult to divert. The board was put up so close to the diversion that you would get no time. It's unfortunate that the students had to face this," said Prem Singh, who works in an educational institution in Film City, Noida, sector 16A.
"The bus allegedly skid when it ran into a pile of construction material that had been dumped at the site for repair work by Noida Authority contractors. While halogen lamps are fitted, none of them were working at the time of the accident, claims the school. As a result, the bus hit the construction material (mostly sand), and skid and hit the pillar. The injured were taken to the nearby Kailash hospital in Sector 27," AK Sharma, School Principle, Apeejay.
When contacted for a comment, DNA's calls to authorities went unanswered. The school bus has been sealed and taken in custody by the police, officials said, adding further probe was underway.
A CLOSE CALL
- Uncle of one of the injured children said she received six stitches on her head and the doctor had suggested surgery too
- The kids have been taken to the Kailash Hospital and were discharged after first aid
- Locals claim there was construction work in progress at the underpass, and a diversion board was put up very closeby
- This made diverting very difficult for the commuters by the time they realised
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