Two school students died on the spot while over 30 sustained grievous injuries after an overloaded bus carrying 75 children turned turtle in the Saidabad area in Handia township of Prayagraj district in Uttar Pradesh on the morning of Saturday, December 17.
According to a report by TNIE, the bus driver was taking the students of Kanti Devi Janata Vidyalaya of Jaunpur on a tour to Mangarh Dham in Pratapgarh and further Anand Bhawan in Prayagraj. At around 10 in the morning, the bus driver lost control of the wheels while trying to save two persons, riding a bike, who came in front of the bus suddenly near Bheski village in Handia on the Prayagraj-Varanasi Highway.
Sources who spoke with TNIE said that as the bus overturned, the students inside started screaming for help. The villagers of Bheski took the students trapped inside the bus out. The 27 students injured in the incident were rushed to nearby Devraj hospital in Handia township.
The police authorities confirmed the death of two students identified as Class IX student Ankit Kumar, a resident of Ghorahan, and Class X student Anurag of Bharthipur. The families of the deceased were informed about the incident by the police. On getting the information, senior police officials, including DCP Ganga Nagar (Trans-Ganga) Abhishek Aggarwal, reached the spot and admitted the students to the nearby community health centre (CHC). Seriously injured students were referred to Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital in Prayagraj.
Both bike riders also sustained injuries in the accident and were also admitted to the hospital. "As of now, two students have died in the accident and over a dozen have been injured. We have admitted the injured at the nearby CHC, while the seriously injured students have been referred to SRN Hospital. We are still ascertaining the loss and the exact number of deaths will be known later," Aggarwal told TNIE.
As per the police sources, the bus turned turtle as it was at high speed. It was carrying around 75 students, including 40 boys and 35 girls while its seating capacity was 41 only. The students were accompanied by seven teachers on the study tour.