Uluberia: 3 children dead as pool car falls into pond

Kolkata: Three school students, aged around six, nine and eleven, died on Monday afternoon after a pool car fell into a pond in Uluberia, Howrah.

Local residents immediately launched a rescue operation and pulled out five children from the vehicle. They were taken to Sarat Chandra Medical College and Hospital, where three were declared brought dead. State Food Processing Industries and Horticulture Minister Arup Roy visited the hospital and spoke to the parents and families of the deceased.

According to sources, the pool car picked up the students from a private English-medium school earlier in the day. While passing through the Bahira area, the driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle, which then plunged into a pond. Residents noticed the car in the water soon afterwards and rushed to rescue the children.

Locals alleged that the driver managed to get out of the sinking car immediately, along with two children seated beside him.

However, the three children seated in the back were unable to escape and drowned inside the vehicle. Police have arrested the driver and begun an investigation. The car was seized for mechanical examination. Just minutes before the accident, one student had been dropped off a few hundred metres away. The child reportedly saw the vehicle fall into the pond and alerted his parents and neighbours.

It was also learnt that the pool car involved in the accident had been replaced only on Monday, instead of the one that usually ferried the children to and from school.