At least six children dead & 15 injured in horror school bus crash as ‘drunk’ driver overturns coach in India
AT LEAST six children have died and a further 15 have been injured after a suspected drink driver overturned a bus in India.
Two students are said to be in a critical condition after the coach reportedly crashed into a tree.
The bus was carrying around 30 students from the GL Public School in Haryana's Mahendragarh district when the tragedy unfolded on Thursday morning.
According to police, the bus driver attempted to overtake another vehicle, local media report.
Following an initial investigation, it appeared that the driver lost control of the bus and rammed it into a tree, the District Education Officer added.
Eyewitnesses present at the scene alleged that the bus driver was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.
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One of the injured students told news agency ANI that the driver was drunk and "kept the speed at 120 kph (74mph) which led to misbalance".
The bus's fitness certificate had also expired six years ago, official documents reveal.
The driver has since been arrested, superintendent of Mahendragarh Police, Arsh Verma, confirmed.
The injured students were immediately taken to hospitals nearby.
Two have since been moved to a hospital in nearby Rohtak in a critical condition, it has been reported.
Dr Ravi Kaushik of Nihal hospital said four children had already died from their injuries when they were brought in.
";We saved 15 children who received serious injuries."
Questions have also been raised as to why the school was even open as the country observed Eid al-Fitr, an Islamic holiday.
In response to the incident, Haryana's Education Minister, Seema Trikha, immediately requested local police to visit the injured children in hospital and launch a thorough investigation.
Union home minister Amit Shah paid his condolences to the children with a post on X (formerly Twitter).
He wrote: "The accident of a school bus in Mahendragarh, Haryana is very sad. My condolences are with the bereaved families of the deceased children.
"May God give them the strength to bear this sorrow.
"The local administration is providing assistance to the injured children. I wish them a speedy recovery."
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It's also been reported that the mother of one of the students involved in the crash crashed her bike on the way to the site of the accident, breaking her leg in the process.