8 hurt as bus rams into auto ferrying schoolkids
HOSHIARPUR: Eight students of a private school in Tanda were injured, five of them seriously, when the auto rickshaw in which they were travelling was hit by a bus on the Tanda-Sri Hargobindpur road on Friday morning. The school bus driver was allegedly overtaking a tractor trailer when he lost control and rammed his vehicle into the autorickshaw that coming from the opposite side.
The injured have been identified as Lakhvir Singh, Gagandip Singh, Gukirat, Sehajpal Kaur, Sehajpal Singh, Bhupinder Singh, Lovejot Singh and Amrit Kaur, all students of GRD International School, Tanda.
While three of them were discharged after first aid, five others have been referred to a Jalandhar hospital.
Tanda senior medical officer Dr Kewal Singh said while three children had fractured their limbs, two had sustained head injuries. The condition of Lakhvir Singh is critical, he added.
The accident took place around 8am. GRD International School principal Hardip Singh said the parents of the children had privately hired the auto as the school vehicle was out of order. “We are bearing the expenses of children’s treatment,” he claimed.
Auto driver Harbans Singh, who escaped unhurt, said, “The bus driver, who was trying to overtake, lost control over the vehicle and hit my auto.”
Police have not initiated proceedings against the bus driver yet. Tanda station house officer Jaswinder Pal Singh said that the statements of complainants are yet to be recorded.