Over 40 school children injured as bus overturns in Haryana’s Panchkula district

The accident occurred near Naulata village of Pinjore, with authorities suspecting that the Haryana Roadways bus was speeding and overloaded, leading to the driver losing control of the vehicle.

Police Inspector Somvir Dhaka, while speaking to The Indian Express, said, “This bus which was mostly carrying students from Dakrog village to their school when the driver lost control due to the sudden inclined turn. This was when the minibus overturned.”

He added, “We have found out the driver was not under the influence of liquor. It was just that he lost control because of overloading in the mini-bus.”

The students were going to the Government school in Dhatogra.

According to Yash Garg, Deputy Commissioner, Panchkula, all the children are stable.

“The minibus overturned near a turn. The reasons behind the accident are under investigation. Our main focus at the moment is to rescue the children. All children are stable; no one has a threatening or critical injury,” Garg told reporters at the civil hospital in Panchkula.

Some of the injured are admitted to a hospital in Pinjore. Out of the 46 injured, 22 including three adults and 19 children were taken to the Panchkula civil hospital. The woman who has been referred to the PGIMER was walking beside the road when the accident occurred.

Mukta Kumar, Chief Medical Officer of the hospital, confirmed that 46 people were injured in the accident.

Haryana Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta, who is the MLA for Panchkula, said the bus driver and the conductor were suspended. “The bus was overloaded and we have been told that the vehicle’s speed was slightly in excess. As it approached a turn, it overturned. So the driver and the conductor of the bus have been suspended,” he said at the hospital.

An order issued by the general manager of Haryana Roadways stated that the two were suspended with immediate effect.

The authorities have launched an investigation into the accident, and the exact cause of the incident is yet to be determined. However, overloading of the bus and the bad condition of the road are among factors that could have led to the accident, according to police.