Two Class IX students of the city-based Vidyabhivardhini High School died and 13 others between Classes I and X were seriously injured when their school mini bus overturned at Ursu Gutta in Warangal on Thursday morning.
The deceased have been identified as D. Sirisha, 14, of B.R. Nagar and C. Sai Kumar, 14, of Ursu Warangal. While Sirisha died on the spot, Sai succumbed to his injuries while being transferred to Nims in Hyderabad. The injured students were rushed to the MGM hospital in 108 ambulances and shifted to the orthopaedic ward for treatment.
Badly-maintained road blamed
The condition of students who were admitted to hospital after they met with a mishap at Ursu Gutta in Warangal is said to be stable. Sources said that the 13 injured students are from B.R. Nagar, Hunter Road and Gayatrinagar.
Witnesses said that the Hunter Road-Urs Kareemabad school mini bus (AP36W 4584), which was being driven by one Ganesh, met with the accident at around 9 am shortly after it passed the badly-damaged flyover near Medicare Hospital. The vehicle overturned when the driver apparently braked suddenly while trying to give way to a speeding two-wheeler.
While the driver has been taken into custody, Warangal Traffic DSP M. Ravi Kumar said they were yet to verify crucial details like fitness of the bus, the driver’s licence and vehicle registration. “Further investigation is on,” he told this newspaper.
Besides poor driving, sources also blamed the badly-maintained 5-km stretch from Hunter Road to Ursu Gutta for being responsible for a series of accidents. Due to poor maintenance, the entire five-km stretch of road is regarded as a highly accident-prone zone, more so at the flyover, where bad patchworks has led to many accidents.
President of Warangal District Unaided Private Schools’ Association K. Bhupal Rao who has promised free education to the injured students blamed the poor condition of the road for the accident rather than the driver’s negligence. “The overturned bus was of a latest model,” he said.