Twelve school children and their bus driver were killed, and 35 children injured, when their vehicle collided with a lorry amid dense fog on the Aliganj-Paliyali road near here on Thursday morning. District Magistrate Shambhu Nath had earlier put the toll at 15 but officials confirmed 13 deaths.
The bus was carrying students to the J.S. Vidyaniketan school which had opened flouting the District Magistrate’s orders to keep all schools up to class VIII closed till Friday in view of the intense cold weather, officials said.
The accident occurred near Asadnagar village under the Aliganj Kotwali police station area in Etah, which is a four-hour drive from the national capital. The dead were in the 5-15 year age group.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr. Nath said soon after getting the news, senior officials rushed to the accident spot and supervised the rescue and relief operations. A crane had to be deployed to retrieve the bus which lay mangled. Gas-cutters were used to open up the body of the bus to rescue the trapped children.
Mr. Nath said orders had been issued to cancel the recognition of the school whose manager and principal defied the district administration’s directive. An FIR had been lodged against the school management.
Eyewitnesses said the truck, coming from the opposite direction at a high speed, hit the bus which overturned under the impact of the collision.
ADVERTISEMENT
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condoled the death of children in the accident. Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav also condoled the incident.