8 children killed in TN mishap

It turned out to be a Black Wednesday for school students in Tamil Nadu.

Eight schoolchildren were killed in two road accidents in Pudukottai and Chennai. In Pudukottai, seven students, all studying in Classes 9-12, died on the spot when the mini van in which they were hitching a ride to the school had a head on collision with a speeding bus. The driver of the mini van also died in the collision. Two children who were seriously injured has been admitted to Thanjavur Medical College Hospital.

Residents in Vijayaraghunathapuram from where the children hailed said the trip to school and back were a tough proposition. The Government buses never stop at the village to pick up the students which forced them to plead with private vehicles for their journey to the school.In Chennai, Abirami, a twelve-year-old school girl, was run over by a sewage lorry on Wednesday morning. She was in her way to the school in her bicycle when the speeding lorry knocked her down resulting in her death. A crowd chased the driver and caught hold of him and handed him over to the police.