Scores of students had a miraculous escape on Thursday when the front bearing of the school bus they were travelling in broke, detaching the front wheel from the axle.
The bus went off the road as the brakes too failed and came to a halt after hitting a boulder a few metres away from the road. None of the students was injured, but the driver sustained minor injuries. The mishap occurred on the outskirts of Bodlada village in Danthalapalli mandal on its way to St Mary’s High School in Danthalapalli carrying students.
People staying nearby rushed to the spot and helped the children get out. They were taken to the school on another bus. The driver was taken to Thorrur area hospital for treatment. The bus was carrying 60 students as against its capacity of only 30. The parents of the children blamed that the school management saying it has been negligent in maintaining its buses. They said the accident was caused because the bus was not in good condition.
T Venkateswarlu, a parent, accused the school management of turning a blind eye to the damaged buses. Had the incident happened while negotiating a culvert or bridge, it would have endangered the lives of students, said T. Venkateswarlu, a parent.
Danthalapalli Sub-Inspector of police Nandi Kumar inspected the spot and said they were inquiring into the incident.