Private bus on school trip from Latur overturns in Solapur; some students suffer minor injuries

Latur, Dec 26 (PTI) Thirty-nine students and seven others, including their teachers, had a narrow escape after the bus they were travelling in overturned in Maharashtra's Solapur while it was on a school trip from Latur district on Thursday, police said.

Some of the students and others sustained minor injuries in the accident that occurred at Mangalwedha in Solapur district around 3.30 am, they said.

Class 8 to 10 students of Shri Ganesh Vidyalaya in Shivankhed in Chakur tehsil of Latur were on their way to Kolhapur and Panhala fort as part of their school trip. There were a total of 46 persons - 21 male students, 18 girls, six teachers and one staff member - on board the private bus that started its journey around 10 pm on Wednesday, a police official said.

"The bus met with an accident near Mangalwedha after its driver lost control, causing the vehicle to veer off the road and overturn. Some students and staff sustained minor injuries. Ambulances were immediately dispatched, and the injured were first treated at Mangalwedha Government Hospital before being transferred to Vilasrao Deshmukh Government Medical College in Latur," he said.

Most of the students were discharged by evening, he added.

The incident occurred while most of the students were asleep. As the bus overturned, the students and teachers scrambled to find their way out. Some of them managed to come out and started rescuing others, the police said.

Talking to PTI, Medical Superintendent Dr Sachin Jadhav said, "All the students and other persons were brought to the hospital by noon. Of these, around 15 students had suffered minor injuries, and some underwent X-ray tests. All the students are now in good health and were discharged around 4 pm." PTI COR NP