School bus plunges into canal
2006-08-01 16:15
New Delhi - At least eight children were killed and a number were reported missing on Tuesday when a school bus fell into a canal in India's northern Haryana state, officials and local news reports said.
Officials said more than 40 children, ages five to 14, were on board the bus on their way to school when it plunged off a bridge into a fast-flowing canal near Sonepat town, 60km north of New Delhi.
Police said the bus fell into the 4.5-metre-deep canal as the bus driver tried to avoid a collision with a mule cart approaching from the opposite direction.
The Sahara news network said 23 children were rescued.
"The kids are in a state of shock," a doctor at a nearby hospital where the injured were taken told reporters. "Of the six admitted here, two are in a critical condition."
Media outlets estimated that five to 15 children were missing and feared drowned. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA