8 school children die in accident

[email protected] (News Network)
March 21, 2012

Hyderabad, March 21: In a heart-rending tragedy, eight children between the ages of five and ten years, were killed and 20 seriously injured when the school bus in which they were returning home plunged into a stream in Khammam district on Tuesday afternoon.


Around 40 students of L.V. Reddy Memorial School were packed into the bus after the driver picked them up from Vepalagadda village in Kothagudam mandal. The bus suddenly fell off a narrow bridge across the Peddavagu stream, eyewitnesses in Tungaram village in Chandrugonda mandal said. The driver fled the scene after the accident but was allegedly assaulted by some irate villagers near Malabanjara village in Kothagudem mandal late in the night.


Six students died instantaneously while two others succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Kothagudem. Local shepherds rushed to the rescue of the children and saved many of them from drowning.


Rash and negligent driving, the narrow road abutting the stream and the poor condition of the vehicle proved fatal for the children, all of whom belonged to families of the weaker sections. Police are investigating whether the cleaner was driving the bus.


The scene of accident presented a picture of gloom as school bags and plastic water bottles of the children were seen floating in the stream while grief-stricken parents wailed over the bodies.


Rescue operations

Rescue teams of Singareni Collieries were pressed into action. They lifted the school bus using a huge crane.


District Collector Siddharth Jain and Additional SP Prakash Jadhav rushed to the scene and monitored rescue operations. Mr. Jain told The Hindu that water in the stream was being drained out using pumps to verify whether any bodies were trapped underneath.


The dead have been identified as E. Pradeep, B. Santosh, D. Ganesh, R. Soujanya, Ch. Navya, G. Manikanta, M. Santosh and A. Shiva Varaprasad.


Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy expressed shock and anguish over the accident and announced ex gratia of Rs. 50,000 to the families of the deceased children and Rs. 25,000 to the injured.


Hyderabad Special Correspondent adds:


Transport Minister Botcha Satyanarayana has ordered an inquiry.


He directed the officials to inspect all school vehicles carrying students for fitness and submit a report within 10 days.


The Minister asked the Transport Commissioner to launch a drive with focus on the fitness of all school buses and heavy transport vehicles.

bus


Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
May 25,2020

Hyderabad, May 25: Indicating foul play in the death of nine people, including six of a family, whose bodies were fished out from a well near Warangal, a forensic expert on Sunday virtually ruled out suicide theory, saying it appeared seven of them had been dragged and thrown into the water body.

Mystery shrouded the death of nine people, including six of a family, whose bodies were found in a well, five of them on Friday and four on Thursday, on the outskirts of Warangal in Telangana.

Police stepped up the probe and forensic analysis was also underway in the case.

The forensic expert, who visited the crime scene as part of the investigation citing preliminary tests, said that the seven of nine people had scratch injuries and appeared to have been "dragged" and "thrown" into the well.

Forensic reports are expected in 10 days, the forensic expert told media on Sunday adding after examining the crime scene it appears that the deaths were not suicides.

"We have preserved all organs and the same were sent to forensic science laboratory (FSL) for examination... some two or three persons might have been involved in the crime. There are scratch injuries on the bodies," he said.

"It appears that they were thrown into the water... There were no injuries on the child's body. We are awaiting the forensic report (to ascertain) whether they were poisoned. It didn't appear as if they committed suicide," the expert, who performed the post-mortem said.

Police sources said at least two people were picked up for questioning.

Bodies of the head of the family, wife, daughter and three-year old grandson were found floating and fished out on Thursday.

On Friday morning, some bodies were seen floating following which police pumped out the water from the well and found others.

The 48-year old man had migrated from West Bengal over 20 years ago and had settled down here. His family had been staying in two rooms on the premises of the unit, police had earlier said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 11,2020

Muzaffarnagar, Jun 11: Three persons have been arrested for allegedly using plastic scrap to make jaggery at Bhokaheri village under Bhopa police station here, as official said on Thursday.

 Police raided a jaggery manufacturing unite (kolhu) and arrested three persons on Wednesday, SHO, Bhopa police station Sanjive Kumar said.

Police have registered a case against five persons including the trio that was arrested while two of them managed to escape, he said, adding that two loaded tractor trollies of plastic scrap have been seized.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 30,2020

Visakhapatnam, Jun 30: Two people were killed and four others were taken ill after benzene gas leaked at a pharmaceutical company at Parawada near here early on Tuesday morning, official sources said.

The situation was now under control as the leak was restricted to one unit in the Sainor Life Sciences company, the sources said.

The two killed were senior employees of the company, they said.

The injured persons have been admitted to a hospital in Gajuwaka, with one of them being put on ventilator support, the sources added.

District Collector V Vinay Chand and Police Commissioner R K Meena visited the company to take stock of the situation.

The cause of the leak that took place in a reactor unit at the plant is yet to be established.

The incident comes nearly two months after 11 people were killed and over 1000 taken ill after gas leak at a chemical plant here.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.