Bus with 40 schoolchildren safe in J-K’s Rajouri, clarify officials

The bus carrying students from the Gareeb Nawaz School returned safely, after reports said it had an accident.

A bus with 40 schoolchildren on a picnic -- that reportedly fell into a gorge in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district on Thursday afternoon -- was safe and no accident took place, officials said.

Reports said a bus with schoolchildren had an accident in Rajouri district, but officials later denied it. (HT FIle/ Representational Photo)

Initial reports said the accident occurred at Mansar when the bus was on its way from Manjakote to Peer Ki Gali on the Mughal Road that connects Rajouri with Shopian district in the Kashmir Valley. However, officials later denied reports of any accident.

Rajouri’s deputy commissioner Shahid Iqbal later clarified that the bus carrying students from the Gareeb Nawaz School -- based in Poonch -- “has returned safely”, and there were no casualties.

“The bus has returned safely. All schoolchildren are safe,” Masroor Mir, the additional superintendent of police in Poonch, told IANS.

The school bus was carrying 45 people.

(With agency inputs)