A major accident was reported in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, on Thursday morning after a school bus carrying nearly 40 children overturned into a gorge along Bareilly Road in Jaipur Bisa village.
More than a dozen children, along with the bus driver and conductor, were injured in the accident.
According to eyewitnesses, the mishap took place when the bus, on its way to a private school, tried to give way to another school bus near the Padampur Dewaliya crossing.
In the process, the vehicle lost balance, skidded, and toppled into a roadside ditch.
Moments after the fall, panic spread inside the bus as frightened children cried for help.
Locals from the village rushed in, broke open the windows, and rescued all the passengers.
The injured children were immediately taken to a private hospital in Haldwani. The driver and conductor were also admitted with serious injuries.
The incident caused alarm among parents, many of whom hurried to the school to check on their children.
With the site being close to the school premises, locals arranged private vehicles to shift the injured quickly to the hospital.
Eyewitnesses claimed the accident occurred when both buses attempted to pass each other at speed. One of the vehicles, allegedly driven rashly, lost control and overturned into the gorge.
Local Leaders Criticise Negligence
Padampur Dewaliya village head Ramesh Chandra Joshi criticised the reckless driving of school buses in the area.
“There were about 40 children in the bus, where more than a dozen children were injured. The bus drivers here drive their vehicles in a drunken state. Even after such a big accident, the district administration did not reach the spot, and it was the local people who rescued the children and sent them to the hospital,” he stated.
Joshi further warned that the outcome could have been far worse.
“Fortunately, the rainfall had stopped and the gorge had no water; otherwise innocent lives could have been lost,” he added.
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