CHANDIGARH: Six school students were killed and around 20 sustained injuries after a bus carrying them met with an accident near Unhani village in Kanina sub-division of Mahendragarh district in Haryana.
The school was reportedly open despite a holiday for Eid-ul-Fitr.
The accident took place when the bus was on its way to the GL public school (private school) in Kanina town after picking up the children from their houses. The driver of the bus was allegedly drunk and he lost balance while overtaking another vehicle when the bus reached near Unhani village.
There were 35 to 40 students from Class 4 to Class 10 in the bus. After hearing the screams of children, the passerby rushed to the spot and took out the injured children from the bus. The injured students were rushed to a nearby hospital, according to sources.
Sources said that five children were brought dead while one child who was injured was put on the ventilator but died after a few minutes. The condition of some of them is also stated to be critical.
The bus driver has been arrested and is being questioned to ascertain the exact reason for the mishap.
The senior police and civil officers of the district rushed to the hospitals in Mahendergarh and Narnaul on getting information about the accident.
The parents of the students and also the school staff reached the hospital.
Meanwhile, the official documents show that the bus's fitness certificate had expired six years ago in 2018, said sources.