Rasulpur: Eleven students had a close shave after a van carrying them overturned into a roadside pond due to alleged rash driving at Atalapur village under this block in Jajpur district Thursday.
The mishap occurred when a Tata Ace van carrying 11 students was on its way to St Joseph School in Kuakhia Bazaar in the morning.
The driver was taking back the vehicles in reverse gear when the vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a roadside pond. The villagers who were passing by the road jumped into the pond and saved all the students.
However, three of the students inside the van were injured in the mishap. They were identified as Moin (8), son of Sk. Jamiluddin and two girls Kusum (5) and Tabassum (6), daughters of Asraf in the area. Villagers rushed them to the Haripur health centre where the doctors administered them treatment.
Eyewitnesses claimed that the mishap occurred due to negligence of driver Raghua Panda. On being informed, Kuakhia police reached the spot and seized the vehicle. Police detained the driver and questioned him in this connection. He will be arrested once the interrogation gets completed, police said.
PNN
