Yoga Day celebrations at Vivekananda Vidyalayam at Muvattupuzha turned tragic when ten of its students and a teacher were injured after a car ran into them on Friday morning.

Injuries to the students were not serious though the teacher suffered a rather serious injury to her spinal cord. Students who were admitted in three different hospitals were learnt to have been discharged. The teacher, Revathy, 25, remains admitted in the Nuero Intensive Care Unit of the MOSC Medical College Hospital, Kolenchery.

The students were being assembled in a line on the school campus ahead of a marathon, Run for Yoga, to a temple at Velloorkunnam where they were to perform Yoga as part of observing the Yoga Day when the incident took place around 8.30 a.m.

“The accident was caused by a new automatic hatchback driven by school academic director Krishnakumar Varma. He had just entered the school campus after manoeuvring a steep climb when he accidentally brushed a student. He probably panicked and in the process hit the accelerator instead of applying the brake, driving the car into the assembled students and the teacher. He also suffered minor injuries and remains admitted in a hospital,” said the Muvattupuzha police.

“Only students of Standard VII A had been assembled for the marathon when the incident occurred. Upper primary students alone were to participate in the marathon,” said K.A. Pradeep, PTA president of the school.

The police have registered a case invoking IPC Section 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others). However, the police didn’t rule out the possibility of a change in Section to 338 (causing grievous hurt by act of endangering life or personal safety of others) depending on the medical report of the teacher.