From our correspondent

Jaipur, August 8

All 18 students were rescued when a private school bus in which they were travelling fell into the Palka river while crossing an inundated bridge at Bijoliya in Bhilwara district on Monday morning.

The students, including five girls, were rescued after villagers present near a community centre broke the front pane of the bus, policeman Panchu Ram of Bijoliya police station said.

The driver of the private bus of Acharya Vidhya Sagar Secondary School tried to cross the river through a small bridge with no railings when from the rear side the bus plunged into the river around 7.30 am, the policeman said. There was about 2 feet water on the bridge when the mishap occurred.

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As the front portion of the bus stuck somewhere, the bus did not fall into the river completely.

There were reports that the bus was carrying 50 students, but there were only 18, he clarified. A case against the driver would be lodged for negligent driving despite warning by villagers, he added.