The school bus of Gyan Niketan that met with an accident at Sheikhpura Mor in Patna on Friday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

A number of students of Gyan Niketan School, Danapur, were injured when the private bus in which they were going home hit a divider near Sheikhpura Mor and crashed into a tree on Friday afternoon.

The incident occurred around 12.30pm. There were around 19 students in the bus at the time of the accident.

Sources said it was moving at a high speed and lost control while negotiating a turn. Parents of the students claimed that the bus (registration no. BR 06 P 2171) was old and dilapidated, while eyewitnesses claimed that the driver, Surendra Rai, was inebriated.

Keshavanand Rai, the father of Anupma Jha, a Class II student who was in the same bus, said: “The school authorities use old buses for transportation of students. We have urged them several times to change the bus but no action has been taken.”

School authorities, however, claimed that the driver was sober and has a valid driving licence.

Principal D.K. Mukherjee said: “At the time of the incident, only 19 children were in the bus. It was not overcrowded. The vice-principal of the school, Prabha Sinha, reached the spot within 10 minutes of the accident. She ensured that the children were sent home safely.”

He added that the service providers of the bus were debarred immediately after the incident.

Sources said there was commotion in the area as residents and passers-by tried to rescue the children trapped in the overturned bus. Personnel from Airport police station also reached the spot to assist in the rescue attempt. No student was hospitalised.

Till the filling of this report, no FIR was lodged at the Secretariat police station. Deo Narayan Mahto, the station house officer, said: “Based on the reports of some parents, an FIR will be lodged in the case. Some parents had given us written complaints.”