6 students killed, 21 hurt in Haryana school bus mishap

An allegedly drunk driver taking 37 students to school lost control of the bus, leading to an accident in which six teenagers – all boys – died and 21 were injured at Mahendergarh. The bus overturned after hitting a tree as the driver tried to overtake a truck at a bend near Kanina Women’s College in the south Haryana district. Dharmendra, the driver who managed to jump off and save himself, was arrested later along with the principal and secretary of GL Public School, to which the bus was attached. Minutes before the accident, locals said they had spotted the bus moving in a zigzag manner on the road. “The bus did not plough into the tree head on. It hit the tree sideways while trying to overtake and overturned. Most of the students who were injured were seated in the rear of the bus,” a commuter said. According to police, four students died by the time they were wheeled into the emergency ward of a private hospital in Rewari, the neighbouring district. Two others died during treatment.