Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

LUCKNOW: A bus carrying 50 children in the age group of 3-12 to school through a thick fog enveloping the town of Aliganh in Etah district of Uttar Pradesh, 290 km from Lucknow, collided head-on with an oncoming truck on Thursday morning. Thirteen of the children in the bus, its driver and another person died in the accident.

It ought never to have happened, the local administration said. Earlier in the morning, schools in Etah district had been ordered not to open today in view of the thick fog and an intense cold wave sweeping this part of UP, but the school, J S Vidya Public School, these children were being driven to chose to ignore the directive.

Apart from the 15 fatilities, 24 others were seriously injured in the accident.

Although initial reports said 24 school children had died in the incident, the local police revised the casualty figure in the evening to 15.

"The school was open against the order of the district administration,” said Uttar Pradesh’s director-general of police (DGP) Javeed Ahmad. “We’ll take strict action against the school authorities.”

However, he added that the truck involved in the accident was loaded with sand and was speeding.

The district magistrate (DM) of Etah has issued a directive to the police to lodge an FIR (first information report) against the school management for flouting the administration’s orders and initiated action to have its recognition cancelled.

Some 10 school children who were grievously injured were rushed to the Sefai superspeciality hospital while others have been sent to different hospitals in Aligarh and Agra districts,” the DM told media persons.

The state’s additional director-general for law and order, Daljeet Singh Chaudhary confirmed that visibility was very poor when the accident took place.

However, action has been initiated against the school, its manager locked the school premises and made himself scarce. The ADG said the owners of the school bus and the truck have been booked in the case.

A local poolice officer, Parasuram Singh said the truck driver suffered serious injuries and his legs had to be amputated.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav directed senior officials, including the local divisional commissioner, to visit the spot and ensure free treatment to the injured children on priority.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Rajnath Singh tweeted their grief over the death of the children. "Anguished by tragic accident in UP’s Etah. I share the pain of the bereaved families and condole passing away of young children. I pray that those injured in the accident in Etah recover at the earliest," PM Modi was quoted as saying.