Class IV student killed in accident, 15 injured

A girl student of Class IV from Contai Public School was killed and 15 others including 13 students were injured, some of the them critically when the a speeding truck hit a school bus near Chatradhara on State Highway 116 B in Contai on Tuesday morning.

Following the incident, the local people staged demonstration demanding widening of the road claiming that the narrow road often causes accidents. Police said that the incident took place at around 10 am on Tuesday when a bus from Contai Public School was taking the students to Contai Public School from Digha. When the bus was going along the state Highway 116 B, a truck fully loaded with tar, lost control on its way to Digha and collided head on the school bus. The bus was completely damaged from the frontal side as the truck was at a top speed. The incident happened when a motorcycle suddenly came in the way of the truck. In order to save the motorcycle, the truck moved to the right side leading to the accident. The truck driver applied emergency brakes but could not stop the vehicle.

The local people rushed to the spot and rescued all the injured students, the driver and the helper of the bus and sent them to Contai Sub-divisional hospital where a Class IV student died later. Police said that victim was a resident of Ramnagar in East Midnapore. According to police, 13 students from the same school received injuries in the accident and some of them were stated to be in serious conditions. The health condition of both the bus driver and the helper is serious and they were undergoing treatment at the hospital.

The local MLA Dibbyendu Adhikari rushed to the spot after hearing about the incident and supervised the rescue operation. State transport minister Suvendu Adhikari also wanted to know about the incident on telephone. Police have arrested the driver of the truck and seized the vehicle. A probe has been initiated.

In another incident, a youth was killed while four of his friends were injured when the car they were travelling in hit a truck from behind. Police suspect that the victim was drunk. Police said that there was a woman among the victims.