LUCKNOW: In a massive road accident, nine children were killed and 11 were injured when the van ferrying them to school crashed into a 200-metre-deep gorge in Uttarakhand's Tehri Garhwal district on Tuesday morning.
The accident took place on the Kangsali-Madannegi road near Lambgaon in Pratap Nagar area, around 150 kms from the state capital Dehradun.
According to sources, the children, aged 4 to 13, were going to Angels International School in Madannegi. They were from Kangsali village.
The driver allegedly jumped off the vehicle to save himself and fled the spot.
Five injured children with head injuries were airlifted to AIIMS Rishikesh, and five others were admitted to a hospital in Bauradi. One child was taken by his parents to Srinagar in Pauri district, said a district administration official.
An SDRF official said overloading appeared to have been one of the factors that led to the accident as the van could accommodate only 10 people, but was carrying 21, including the driver.
SDRF carried out rescue operations till evening.