Eight kids die as school bus plunges into stream

KHAMMAM: Eight students died and 26 others injured when a school bus fell into Tungaram stream on the Kothagudem-Khammam highway in Khammam district on Tuesday evening. The condition of two children is said to be critical. Negligence of the school management which allowed bus cleaner to drive the vehicle is blamed for the tragedy.The deceased are: Gagulothu Manikanta (6), Daravath Ganesh (8), Ragaboina Sowjanya (8), Memala Pradeep (6), Budidha Santhosh (7), Menthula Santhosh (5) Navya (5) and Varaprasad (4). Rescue operations were still on when the last reports came in and officials fear more casualties. According to Kothagudem additional superintendent of police Bhaskar Bhushan, the school bus plunged into the stream from a 30-foot-high bridge after the driver lost control while trying to avoid head-on collision with a motorcycle. About 40 students of Dr L V Reddy Memorial School of Vepalagadda in Sujathangar mandal were travelling in the bus and cleaner Srinivas (28) was driving when the accident took place. The school management allowed him to take the steering in absence of the regular driver for the last four days, it is said. The school bus left Vepalagadda at 3 pm to drop the children at their homes in the villages of Kothagudem and Chundrugonada mandals. Children belonging to Sujathanagar, Thippannaplly, Raghavapuram, Thungaram and Chundrigonda villages were in the bus at the time of the mishap when it was proceeding towards Thungaram after dropping off some children at Raghavapuram village. The bus fell into the stream and got submerged partially resulting in the death of eight children due to drowning.The 26 injured children are undergoing treatment at hospitals in Sujathanagar and Kothagudem.After receiving information about the incident, Paloncha revenue divisional officer Shyam Prasad and Kothagudem ASP Bhaskar Bhushan, along with local revenue officials, reached the spot and pressed some swimmers into service to rescue the children.Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy expressed shock over the incident.