6 school kids among 7 killed in MP accident

SATNA\BHOPAL: Seven people, including six children, died in Madhya Pradesh’s Satna district on Thursday after their vehicle collided with a bus, police said.

Satna collector Rahul Jain confirmed the accident. “Six children and a driver died in the accident while a half a dozen people were injured, “he said.

A policeman said among the six deceased children, three belonged to the same family and were residents of Devra, while two others were from nearby Pagar village.

Ramsunder Dwivedi, a farmer, lost his two daughters Mahak (8) and Purvi (10) in the accident, while his third daughter Muskan (6) is in a critical condition.

Dwivedi’s nephew, Abhay Dwivedi (10), also died in the accident. Among the other deceased are Shilpi (14), Sachin (15) and Priyangsh Yadav (14).

The accident took place early on Thursday when a school van heading towards Barsinghpur, some 450 km northeast of Bhopal, was crushed after it collided with a bus plying between Rewa and Chitrakoot. Five children on the spot while the driver and three other children died while undergoing treatment at the district hospital.

A police official said preliminary probe showed that the driver of the bus was speeding when he lost control and collided with the school van.

Soon after the accidents, parents of the deceased children staged protest at the school, demanding cancellation of its registration and police action against the management. The parents alleged that the school van did not meet the standards necessary for carrying schoolchildren.

Officials of the district administration reached the spot and sealed the school.

Satna’s collector Jain has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the family of deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.