1st LD: 15 school children feared killed in bus-truck collision in India
Xinhua, January 19, 2017 Adjust font size:
Over 15 children were feared killed and many others injured after a school bus collided head-on with a speeding truck on Thursday in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
The accident took place in the morning at Aliganj in Etah district, about 234 km northwest of Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh.
"In a tragic road accident today in Aliganj-Etah, over 15 school children are feared dead," Uttar Pradesh Police Chief Javed Ahmad said.
Following the accident, locals and policemen rushed to the spot to carry out rescue work.
"Many school children were pulled out from the bus in injured condition by locals and immediately taken to hospital in ambulances," Somnath Pandey, a local man told Xinhua. "The death toll is likely to increase as some of the injured are very critical."
Officials said there was poor visibility in the area due to fog that had enveloped the region in the morning.
Police officials said they were investigating the reasons behind the accident.
Deadly road accidents are common in India often caused due to overloading, bad condition of roads and reckless driving. Endit