School teacher, driver die, principal critical after gas tanker falls on their car near Punjab’s Jalandhar town

All three were going from Jalandhar to DIPS School, Mehatpur, when tanker driver lost control of the vehicle as one of its tyres went into a pothole

A teacher and a driver of DIPS School, Mehatpur, were killed, while the principal sustained critical injuries when a gas tanker fell on their car when they were on their way to school on the Jalandhar-Nakodar highway on Wednesday morning.

Locals rescuing the injured school principal from the mangled vehicle in Jalandhar on Wednesday. (HT PHOTO)

Police said the freak accident occurred when the tanker driver coming from Nakodar was taking a turn but the vehicle overturned as one of its tyres got stuck in a pothole.

Car driver Amit Kumar, 32, and school teacher Shelly, 35, died on the spot, while principal Jyoti Sharma, 55, suffered critical injuries and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital. They were going from Jalandhar town to the school at Mehatpur, 36 km away.

Jalandhar cantonment assistant commissioner of police Major Singh said that the tanker driver was also injured and is undergoing treatment at the local civil hospital. He was booked under Sections 304A (causing death by negligence) and 279 (rash driving) of the Indian Penal Code.

An eyewitness, Rajesh Sharma, blamed the municipal corporation (MC) authorities for failing to repair the potholes that had claimed two lives.