Kids have a narrow escape as school bus crashes into tree

School bus crashes into tree

THIRTEEN schoolchildren from Podar International School in Powai had a narrow escape when their bus skidded out of control and rammed into a tree. The incident occurred around 7 am when the school bus picked up students from Trikutta Towers at Gandhinagar, and was moving towards the gate of Suncity Complex. The bus, coming down from a slope, skidded and hit a tree.

Fortunately, the tree served as a barricade and saved the bus from falling on its left, on the grocery shops, which could have been fatal for the kids as well as people in the shops. Residents of a nearby society rushed to the aid of the children, who were visibly shaken, and called their parents.

Fire brigade officials had to cut the tree down after its trunk was wrecked in the collision

The principal of the CIE Board of the school, Suchita Malakar, also reached the spot and was seen pacifying the parents and children.

Residents also called the police and fire brigade to the spot. The fire brigade team removed the bus and decided to cut the tree down immediately, as its trunk was wrecked and could have posed a safety hazard during monsoon.

Narrow escape: The schoolchildren suffered from minor injuries on their chin, stomach and hands.

Callous attitude
The driver of the bus, Sudhakar, blamed it on a technical fault. "The brakes failed, after the air pressure valve burst and I could not control the vehicle." The bus contractor, Sharma, seemed apathetic to the entire incident, commenting, "Machinery hai, kharaab ho gayi." (It was a simple case of machinery breakdown).

However, eyewitnesses alleged that Sudhakar was speeding and had turned off the engine on the slope to save fuel, which resulted in the mishap.

Parentspeak
Joseph Francis, father of a Std I student, said, "I rushed to the spot after another parent informed me that the bus met with an accident. My child, who was sitting on the front seat, was hit by the steel rod in front of him on his chin. While the principal showed concern about our children's safety, the bus contractor was indifferent to the entire episode."

Another parent, on condition of anonymity, added, "We are worried about the indifferent attitude of bus authorities. We are planning to have a meeting with the principal and demand better safety measures in the bus to ensure such accidents don't happen in the future. The school charges us an exorbitant amount for the bus facility and yet they fail to ensure proper safety arrangements."

Parents also claimed that the bus does not meet the standard safety norms like having an experienced driver, safety belts for children, etc.