19 children killed as school bus, truck collide in UP's Etah

Nineteen children were killed and 30 injured on Thursday when a school bus collided head on with a truck in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah district.

The toll could go up as some of the injured are in a critical condition.

The truck driver was also killed in the accident, the police said.

According to the police, the incident occurred around 9 am near Asadpur village, and there was dense fog in the area at the time of the incident.

The victims were students of the nearby J S Public School at Aliganj. The injured children were admitted to the district hospital. The critically wounded victims were referred to the medical college at Saifai, police said.

Case against school
District Magistrate Shambhu Nath said that despite a directive to close the school for students up to Class VIII, owing to the intense cold wave conditions prevailing in the district,  the institution was functioning.

“The recognition of the school will be cancelled,” Nath said.

A case was also registered against the school management. The manager of the school is absconding and the police are on the lookout.

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has directed the district administration to provide free treatment for the injured, officials said.