Five children were killed and eight others were injured when their school van was hit by a speeding Varanasi bound train in an unmanned railway crossing in Mau district on Thursday morning. “Varanasi bound Tamsa passenger train from Azamgarh hit a school van at unmanned railway gate at Ranipur police station. Five children died on the spot while an injured succumbed to his injures in the hospital,” District Magistrate Chandrakant Pandey told reporters in Mau.
The accident took place at around 8 am when the victims, students of Dharam Deo Convent School, were going to the school. There were a total of 13 students in the van. The driver is among the injured. “Majority of those killed were in the age group of 4-6 years and were sitting on the rear of the van,” the DM said.