12 students injured as bus falls into canal

Jhansi: Twelve students were injured after a school bus plunged into a roadside canal in Semri village near Moth area of Jhansi on Saturday.

The bus was carrying 32 students from Rashtrakavi Maithilisharan Gupt Vidhyapeeth in Chirgaon after school. The accident occurred when the bus driver lost control of the vehicle due to a sudden failure of the steering wheel while navigating a narrow road alongside a canal and the bus fell into the canal. In a swift response, villagers rushed to the scene and rescued the children by pulling them out through the emergency exit and windows of the bus. All of the injured students were rushed to a community health centre, from where seven with some serious injuries were referred to Jhansi Medical College. Hearing the news, parents of the students rushed to the spot.

SSP Jhansi BBGTS Murthy and CMO Dr Sudhakar Pandey also reached the hospital to take stock. Murthy said preliminary investigations revealed that the steering wheel of the bus failed, which led to the accident. "There were 32 students on board, of which seven were referred to Jhansi Medical College for treatment. The rest of them were sent home and are fine," he said.