Sambalpur: As many as eight school children were injured out of which two are stated to be critical after a school van ferrying them to school rammed into a JCB machine parked alongside the road at Ambiranagar under Ainthapali police limits in Sambalpur town Wednesday morning.
The injured students of St. Joseph School were rushed to the Sambalpur district headquarters hospital (DHH. Later, the two critically injured students were shifted to a private hospital for better treatment as their condition worsened, it was learnt.
As per sources, the incident occurred while the students were on their way to school at around 7: 15am. The vehicle rammed into another vehicle parked on the roadside after the driver lost balance on the wheels.
While no exact reason was known, one of the injured students informed that the steering of the vehicle got jammed, leading to the mishap.
Meanwhile, the van driver fled the spot, leaving the injured students that spread outrage among the locals. Angry locals demanded the immediate arrest of the absconding driver.
Police rushed to the spot and have launched a probe.
PNN