One of the injured girls lies in hospital after the bus accident. Picture by Amit Datta

Three students of Shri Shikshayatan suffered serious injuries when the bus carrying them home overturned after hitting the median on AJC Bose Road, at the Beckbagan crossing, on Tuesday evening.

A bus attendant was critically injured.

Thirty-odd students of the Lord Sinha Road school remained trapped in the bus (WB 41B 2761) till they were rescued by local residents.

“As the bus fell on its side, we had to break open the front and rear glass panes to bring out the children,” said Mrityunjoy Sen, a local resident who joined the rescue effort.

Most students suffered minor injuries, but the condition of Deepa Poddar, 16, Nandini Jaiswal, 12, and Shalini Gupta, 15, and bus attendant Indudhanu Das, 30, was critical. They were admitted to Mission of Mercy Hospital.

Nandini suffered injuries to her waist and head, while Shalini sustained injuries on her neck and forehead. Deepa, who was sitting in the driver’s cabin, fractured her hip and right femur.

“The attendant suffered chest injuries. His right ribs were fractured and there is accumulation of fluid in his chest,” said Indranil Mukherjee, the medical superintendent of Mission of Mercy Hospital.

The Shri Shikshayatan students who were on the bus that crashed and overturned. Pictures by Amit Datta

Driver Ganesh Dutta, 33, who has been arrested, blamed the mishap on a snag in the steering. But witnesses, as well students in the bus, alleged that he was driving recklessly. “We repeatedly asked him to slow down, but he ignored our pleas,” said Madhuri Jaiswal, a student of Class VIII.

Principal S. Narayanswami said the school would offer all help to the injured students but would not take any responsibility for the mishap. “The bus was hired by a committee comprising parents.”

Some of the parents alleged that the school authorities did not bother to inform them about the mishap. Deepa Poddar’s father Manoj said: “I was informed about my daughter’s condition by the hospital. When we called up the school, the authorities denied any knowledge of the mishap.”

The three students who have been admitted to hospital are worried whether they will be able to sit for the ongoing annual exams. “Day after tomorrow, we have our last paper. I don’t know whether I’ll be able to sit for it,” said Nandini, lying in her hospital bed.

“A probe is on to find out the cause of the accident,” said deputy commissioner of police (headquarters) Vineet Goyal.