Eyewitnesses said the accident took place around 8 a.m. at Majnu ka Tila, near the Inter-State Bus Terminus at Kashmere Gate. The students were aged 10 to 12 years, said Deputy Commissioner Police Sagar Preet Hooda.

“My niece was in the van. The truck hit the van from behind,” Rajiv Jain told reporters near the accident site.

Sivani Monga, the mother of an injured student, said: “Since it is a Saturday, the school van was almost empty. If the van had been full, more children would have been injured."

Hospital authorities said that five of the seven children had minor wounds and were discharged after treatment. "Two children are undergoing tests. One has fractured his arm," a doctor said.

The driver of the truck fled after the accident, police said.