In an extremely tragic monsoon-related incident in Kerala, five children between the ages of five and 13 were killed when a huge tree uprooted due to heavy rain and winds and fell on the schoolbus in which they were returning home after classes on Friday evening near Kothamangalam, about 50 kilometres east of Kochi. Seven students have been admitted with severe injuries.
There were 12 students in the bus when the tragedy occurred.
The deceased have been identified as Krishnendu, Johan, Gowri, Ameen and Isha Sarah Eldo. Three of them died on the way to hospital while two succumbed to injuries at the hospital. The children were in kindergarten, lower primary and upper primary classes of Vidya Vikas School, Karukadam, Kothamangalam.
One of the injured children was shifted to the Medical Mission Hospital, Kolenchery from a hospital in Kothamangalam late Friday evening after doctors termed the condition as critical. However, they said the condition of the other children was not serious but some of them were still under observation in the emergency wards. The bus driver also suffered injuries in the accident.
The tragedy occurred about 4.45 PM Friday at Kuthukuzhy near Nellimattom on the busy Kothamangalam-Adimali route. The huge tree on the roadside fell exactly on the part of the bus where the children were sitting. As the bus was crushed under the weight of the tree, the police and Fire Force had a hard time taking the children out.
As the bus, belonging to the school where the children were studying, reportedly had no emergency exit, the injured children had to be rescued by breaking the rear wind shield. The bus had left the school with 40 children but 28 of them had been dropped at their homes before it had reached the spot where the tragedy occurred.
An 11-KV electric line was snapped when the tree fell but a more gruesome tragedy was averted as it was not live. local residents said that the area had witnessed heavy rains and strong winds at the time of the accident. The State Government announced a financial assistance of `4 lakh each to the families of the dead children.