News of the Week!
A school bus in Etah was driving 13 children to the school JS Vidyaniketan, despite strict orders to close all schools due to extreme cold. Reports say that the accident happened when the bus driver swerved to save two young girls on bicycles, but didn’t see a sand truck, which was hidden in the fog. He rammed the bus into the truck, killing the two girls in the process.
Many parents blame the truck driver and the bus driver, mainly because they were driving at unsafe speeds for the fog and cold.
“There were about 60 students in the bus which had a capacity of only 35 students,” said Parush Ram Singh, the Aliganj police station incharge.
Shortly after the accident, a large team of doctors were sent to the site, and evacuated them to the Agra, Aligarh and Saifai hospitals. The Etah district magistrate, Shambhu Nath said eight children died during the accident and the rest in hospital. Local government officials feared the count might increase. PM Modi heard about the incident and quickly responded.
“Anguished by the tragic accident in UP’s Etah district. I share the pain of the bereaved families & condole passing away of young children,” he said in a tweet. “I pray that those injured in the accident in Etah recover at the earliest,” he said. He ordered many of his officials to take action in solving the incident to restore it to it’s previous condition. The director general of police had held the school accountable, saying: “Strict action will be taken against the school.” The Prime Minister had also sent his condolences to the parents of the children, saying in a tweet: “Anguished by the tragic accident in UP’s Etah district. I share the pain of the bereaved families & condole passing away of young children, I pray that those injured in the accident in Etah recover at the earliest,” he said.