A student died and 10 others suffered grievous injuries when a private bus, carrying 45 students, nine teachers, and support staff, numbing four, of the Kadiri Government Boys High School, fell into a valley near Gerusoppa Soolemarki Cross in Honnavar taluk of Uttar Kannada district on Friday night.
The deceased was identified as T. Basha Fakruddin of Class X and it was a miraculous escape for all the other students and teachers as the trees on the hill slope stopped the bus from falling into a 500-feet ravine. The bus, with 58 persons, fell into the valley while going from Jog Falls to Murudeswar at around 10.30 p.m. The Headmaster of the school, Rajendran, somehow broke the rear windshield of the vehicle and managed to bring six persons on to the road.
He got in touch with his relatives in Anantapur district, who in turn informed the police personnel here. By the time the Anantapur police got in touch with the Karnataka police, they were on their way to the spot and managed to rescue all those in the bus, Anantapur Superintendent of Police B. Satya Yesubabu told The Hindu.
Shifted to hospital
Twelve of the injured were shifted to Manipal Hospital in Udupi, while some were treated at taluk government hospital in Honnavar. The team started for excursion on January 2 from Kadiri.
District Collector Gandham Chandrudu got in touch with his counterparts in Dharwad and ensured the injured got medical attention. He sent education officials to the accident spot with some cash to provide immediate relief to the injured students.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Shaik Lal Ahmed and Kadiri MLA P.V. Sidda Reddy arranged a bus from Kadiri to bring back the students. They are expected to reach by early hours of Sunday, as the majority of them were discharged in the afternoon.
Local taluk officials, police officers and staff immediately rushed to the accident spot and monitored the rescue operations. Local MLA Dinakar Shetty too visited the accident spot, according to sources.
