Chandigarh | Six schoolchildren were killed and around 20 sustained injuries after a bus carrying them overturned in Haryana's Mahendragarh on Thursday, police said.
The Haryana government has ordered a probe into the incident following the registration of an FIR, officials said.
The bus belonged to a private school and was being driven rashly at a high speed due to which the driver lost control and rammed the vehicle into a tree after which it overturned, police said, citing reports.
Reports also suggest that the driver was under the influence of alcohol, police said, adding that he has been arrested and his medical report is awaited.
The bus was carrying 30 children and the accident occurred near Unhani village in Kanina, they said.
Officials also said that the district authorities are ascertaining why the school was functioning despite a holiday owing to Eid festival.
"Six children have died in the incident and around 20 are injured," Superintendent of Police, Mahendragarh, Arsh Verma told PTI over the phone.
Asked about reports suggesting that the driver was drunk, he said, "He has been apprehended and his medical examination is being conducted after which we will be able to establish whether he was drunk or not".
Haryana's Education Minister Seema Trikha said it was a "very sad" incident.
"Our focus right now is to provide treatment to the injured children," Trikha, who was on her way to the site, told PTI over the phone.
Asked why the school was functioning on a holiday, she said, this will be found out from the district and school authorities.
A doctor at a hospital near the accident site where 20 of the injured children were taken to told reporters that four students were brought dead and one, who was put on ventilator support, succumbed to injuries.
After preliminary treatment, the injured students were taken to a government hospital, he said.
Hearing the cries of the children, some passersby rushed to help, pulling out children from the severely damaged bus.
An injured student told reporters that the driver was driving at a high speed when he lost control of the vehicle resulting in the crash. The driver also appeared to be drunk, he said.
Several political leaders expressed grief at the accident.
"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 strength to bear this loss. The local administration is providing help to the injured children. I wish them a speedy recovery," Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on X.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, in a post in Hindi on X, said, "Deeply saddened by the accident of a school bus in Kanina, Mahendragarh. My condolences are with the bereaved families who have lost their innocent children. I wish speedy recovery of all the injured. The local administration was taking care of the injured." Former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar expressed "deepest condolences" to all the bereaved families and wished speedy recovery to the injured.
Congress leader and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the news was "painful".
"I express my deepest condolences to the families who lost their children... I pray to God that the injured children recover as soon as possible," Hooda posted on X
