Bus with 35 kids hits truck - 15 of Lincoln's High School injured, 6 under observation

TT, Siliguri, Aug. 23: A school bus carrying 35 students and five teachers of Lincoln's High School today rammed into a stationary truck on the outskirts of Siliguri, causing injuries to 15 children.

According to a teacher, the accident happened at 9am in Debidanga, on the outskirts of Siliguri and 2km from the school, when the bus was taking the children and the teachers to the campus.

Nine of the children were released after being administered first aid. Six are under observation in hospital.

Dipti Upadhyay, one of the teachers who was on the bus, said: "The driver of our bus wasn't driving rashly and neither was he speeding. There was a truck parked on the side near a bend of the road and as we neared the bend, an auto rickshaw suddenly came in front of the bus from the opposite direction. The accident happened because the driver had to apply brakes abruptly to avoid a collision with the autorickshaw. The bus swerved and rammed into the lorry. This made the students lunge forward and fall and they bruised their hands and faces."

The windscreen of the bus and its front portion were damaged.

The students were rushed to the Siliguri District Hospital where six were admitted to the observation ward.

"Fifteen students had been brought to the hospital this morning with injuries. While nine with minor injuries have been released after first-aid treatment, we have currently kept six under observation," said Asit Biswas, the chief medical officer of health of the district.

Hospital sources said the condition of the six students was stable and they would be released as soon as they felt better.

"Some students fell forward with full force and suffered injuries to their hands, legs and faces and complained of uneasiness and pain. We have kept six such students under observation and they will be released as soon as they feel better," a hospital official said.

Later in the day, Gautam Deb, the tourism minister, visited the students at the hospital.

The school authorities informed the guardians about the accident who rushed to the hospital.

"It is unfortunate that the school bus carrying our students met with an accident this morning. We took the students to the hospital and they have received necessary treatment. Guardians of the students were informed and they came and took their children from the hospital," said Shampa Dutta Ray, the school principal.

Some guardians complained that the condition of the road that leads to the school is bad. "The road that leads to the school is very bad and our children commute through this road to school daily. In addition to the bad road condition is the rash driving of different vehicles. We request the district administration to do something to improve the road condition as well as curb the menace of rash driving," said a guardian of student at the hospital.