Relatives mourn the death of a child who was killed in the road mishap. Picture by Uttam Kumar Pal

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 22: The quest for knowledge ended in death for a group of students of Rourkela this morning.

Six students, a music teacher and the director of Indo-English School of Rourkela town in Sundargarh district were killed in a road mishap this morning after a dumper collided with their speeding trekker on State Highway 10.

The school team was on its way to Sambalpur town to participate in a quiz.

The trekker was carrying nine students and the two school representatives apart from the driver while the accident happened. The driver, John Kujur, and another student, Swati Sahoo, are fighting for their lives at present. The remaining two children were fortunate to escape with minor injuries.

The trekker collided with the dumper near Bhasma bridge, 5 km from Rourkela, at 8.30 am. Music teacher Debu Dasgupta, school director Mihir Baran Mukherjee and four students died on the spot.

The injured students and the driver were rushed to Indira Gandhi Hospital in Rourkela, where two more students succumbed to their injuries in the afternoon. The deceased students — Badrinarayan Rath, Mukesh Bijnani, Aparna Dasgupta, Supriya Panigrahi, Anupam Singh and Abhilash Nayak — were all aged between 10 and 15.

The bodies were handed over to the families of the deceased after the post-mortem. Rourkela superintendent of police Y.B. Khurania told The Telegraph that the driver seemed to be in a tearing hurry to reach Sambalpur. Eyewitnesses said it was raining when the accident occurred and Kujur was driving recklessly.

Quiz organisers Rotary Club cancelled the event and rushed to the spot to carry the injured to the hospital.

The incident has left the school shattered. While parents of the deceased wailed inconsolably, the school principal is yet to come to terms with the loss of her husband Mihir Baran, the director.

The Sundargarh collector has ordered all schools in Rourkela to remain closed tomorrow.