Shepherd rises to the occasion, saves many children

The casualties of the school bus accident would have been much higher, were it not for Dharma Seethya

HEARTRENDING TRAGEDY: Dharma Seethya, the shepherd who saved many schoolchildren from drowning. Photo: G.N. Rao

A shepherd turned saviour for several schoolchildren who narrowly escaped from a devastating accident involving their school bus near Tungaram village in Chandrugonda mandal on Tuesday.

According to eye witness accounts, Dharma Seethya, a shepherd, rescued several of the children trapped inside the ill-fated bus immediately after it fell into a stream while passing through a narrow bridge near Tungaram on Tuesday afternoon. He saved nearly 10 students by coming to their rescue promptly even as the bus driver fled from the scene leaving behind the hapless children to their fate.

Deafening sound

“I noticed the bus plunging into the stream with a deafening sound,” recalled Mr. Seethya. Speaking to The Hindu , he said, “I had managed to reach out to the children ensnared inside the bus and a few others floating in the water. I could save many of them one after the other.” He was sorry that eight innocent children were killed even before any help reached them.

My daughter met with a tragic end just a few minutes before her arrival in Tungaram village, bemoaned Krishnaiah, the father of Soujanya. She left for the school in the morning saying she had to attend the School Day related events, he recalled lamenting that the bus journey proved fatal for his daughter due to negligent driving allegedly by the cleaner. The school management, the errant cleaner-cum-driver and the road transport officials concerned should be given deterrent punishment to prevent recurrence of similar gory mishaps, demanded another parent.