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19 schoolkids on picnic hurt as bus plunges into gorge in Morni
Excursion from Malerkotla to Morni Hills turns into nightmare; bus driver, tour guide, school staff also injured; police suspect driver’s recklessness may have caused the accident
A tourist bus carrying students from Nankana Sahib School, Malerkotla, fell into a 100-foot-deep gorge near Tikkar Tal in Morni Hills, Panchkula, on Saturday, injuring 23 out of 49 passengers, including 19 students, the driver, a tour guide and staff members.
Among the injured, Vinod Chhabra, a travel agent who sustained fractures in both legs, was referred to PGIMER, Chandigarh for advanced treatment. The others, who sustained minor injuries, were treated at the civil hospital in Sector 6, Panchkula, with five individuals still under observation.
The students, aged between 16 to 18, were on a one-day picnic tour to Chandigarh and Panchkula. The accident occurred when the boys’ bus, leading a group of two buses carrying nearly 100 people, overturned near Tikkar Tal. Fortunately, the second bus carrying 54 girls, following closely behind, managed to avoid the mishap.
There were 49 passengers on the bus involved in the accident, including students, teachers, helpers, the driver and the tour guide.
Police said the driver’s recklessness while driving may have caused the accident. As the bus fell into the ditch, the trapped children and staff members began crying for help. Locals from nearby areas, along with Morni police, rushed to the scene and launched a rescue operation. Using ropes, the rescue team successfully pulled the passengers out of the gorge.
All passengers were initially given first aid at the primary health centre in Morni, before being transferred to the Panchkula civil hospital for further treatment.
Dr Mukta Kumar, chief medical officer (CMO) of Panchkula, said, “A total of 23 people were brought to the hospital. One of them, the travel agent, was referred to PGIMER, Chandigarh. The remaining passengers had minor injuries and were discharged after treatment. Five are still under observation.”
Police are recording statements of the injured passengers to determine the exact cause of the accident. An inquiry into the driver’s conduct and the condition of the bus is also in progress.
This is the third such accident in Panchkula district in the past three months. On July 8, an overloaded Haryana Roadways mini-bus, headed from Kalka to the hill areas of Pinjore, overturned near Nolta village, leaving 46 people, including 42 schoolchildren, injured.
In another mishap on July 17, four students from a private school and the driver were injured after their van hit a divider and overturned in Sector 25 on a rainy morning.
