At least eight schoolchildren and an attendant received minor injuries after the bus they were travelling in rammed into a pickup van carrying steel rods, which pierced through the rear of the bus after breaking its windshield, in the Uruli Kanchan area on the outskirts of Pune Wednesday, the police said. According to the police, the school bus was carrying children aged six and seven from Olympus School for Excellence, located in Bhandgaon, Daund taluka, Pune district. The police said the accident took place around 2 pm on the Pune-Solapur highway at Kamble in Uruli Kanchan. They reported that there were approximately 40 children on the bus. "Our initial probe suggests that a bike riding in front of the school bus suddenly applied brakes, forcing the bus driver to come to a sudden halt. Because of this, a tempo carrying steel rods, which was behind the bus, suddenly came to a halt. A bunch of steel rods that the tempo was carrying slid from its position and pierced through the back windshield of the bus," said Inspector Shankar Patil of the Uruli Kanchan police station, which falls under the Pune Rural police. "But fortunately, these injuries were not due to steel rods, but due to the sudden brake and some due to pieces of glass, as per preliminary information. All have been given basic treatment and released," Inspector Patil said. Inspector Patil said they have launched an investigation into the accident. "We will register a case based on preliminary findings," he added.