Nagpur: At least five schoolchildren were injured on Friday morning when a van carrying students of Bhavan’s Koradi Road Branch collided head-on with a school bus on the Mankapur Flyover in Nagpur. The accident occurred around the descending slope of the flyover, where traffic has been diverted into a single lane for months due to ongoing repair work.
Passersby immediately rushed to the spot, pulling children out of the mangled van and rushing them to a nearby hospital. Witnesses said only two of the injured students were conscious when rescued, while others lay unconscious inside the vehicle. One of the children later recalled hearing a loud crash before blacking out. Parents of some students also reached the site within minutes of the accident.
The van driver suffered severe head and abdominal injuries after the steering wheel struck him during the collision. He, too, has been admitted to hospital. Doctors confirmed that several of the injured students are in critical condition but added that no fatalities have been reported so far.
The bus, belonging to Narayana Vidyalam, Bokhara, was en route to pick up students from the city. Its driver and two female attendants escaped unhurt. The bus driver blamed the van driver for speeding and veering into the opposite lane, leading to the crash.
Traffic on the flyover remained disrupted for nearly an hour after the accident, with commuters complaining that no traffic police were present initially to manage the situation. The accident has once again highlighted the risks posed by the prolonged closure of one side of the flyover between Mankapur Stadium and Faras. The damaged stretch has been under repairs for months, forcing vehicles from both directions to move in a constricted space.
Local residents and commuters have repeatedly criticized the slow pace of repair work, warning that the traffic bottleneck was a recipe for accidents. Friday’s crash has intensified calls for authorities to expedite the project and deploy traffic personnel to prevent further mishaps.
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