The ill-fated bus was carrying students from Suratganj Composite School, who had traveled to Lucknow for an educational excursion to visit the Lucknow zoo and regional science center, the police said.In total, 42 children, four teachers, a bus driver, and a conductor were on the bus at the start of the journey. The children on the bus belonged to classes 7 and 8.
The deceased were identified as Shubhi Kumari (14), Mansi (13), and Kamini (14). All three were students of class 8, while the fourth victim was identified as Sufiyan Ansari (28), the bus conductor.
Additional Superintendent of Police, Barabanki, Chiranjeev Nath Sinha, said that preliminary investigations suggest that around 6.10 pm, the bus encountered a high-speed motorcycle during its return near Salarpur, prompting the driver to swerve to avoid a collision. Regrettably, this manoeuvre led to the bus veering off the road and overturning into a nearby ditch, resulting in the loss of precious young lives.
“Upon hearing the commotion and cries of the children, scores of villagers rushed to the scene to offer assistance. Emergency services were promptly mobilized, with senior officials and personnel from the administration and Basic Education Department swiftly arriving at the site to coordinate rescue efforts,” said Sinha.
Sinha further stated that the bodies of the deceased three children were extricated from the overturned bus with the aid of a JCB and were pronounced dead at the scene. The remaining injured children, numbering 15, were swiftly transported from the Community Health Center (CHC) in Dewa to the district hospital for urgent medical attention.
Sinha also mentioned that the motorcyclist and a child riding pillion sustained injuries and have been referred to the KGMU trauma center in Lucknow.”