Published Jan 01, 2025 | 8:00 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 02, 2025 | 12:33 AM
Local residents blamed the unscientific road construction for the accident. (Screengrab)
The New Year’s Day ended on a tragic note in Kerala’s Kannur district when an 11-year-old girl was killed and at least 13 other students were injured after their speeding school bus overturned at Valakkai, Sreekantapuram, on Wednesday, 1 January.
The deceased, identified as Nedya S Rajesh, was flung out of the bus as it overturned, and the vehicle landed on her around 4 pm on the Thaliparamba-Iritty highway in Chengalai panchayat.
Nedya was a Class 5 student of the Chinmaya Vidyalaya at Kurumanthur. As many as 15 students were on the bus when it veered out of control and overturned while entering the state highway from a service road.
CCTV footage showed the vehicle rolling three times. The bus was dropping students off after school.
Residents responded immediately to the accident and shifted the injured children to Thaliparamba Taluk Hospital. A grievously injured girl, the daughter of a guest worker from Assam, was later transferred to the Government Medical College Hospital at Pariyaram.
Nedya’s body was shifted to the Pariyaram Medical College.
Initial reports suggested a possible brake failure caused the accident, even as local residents blamed the road’s unscientific construction. They said accidents were frequent on the stretch.
However, evidence later suggested that the bus driver, Nizam, might have been using his mobile phone while driving.
There are reports of CCTV footage and WhatsApp records showing Nizam, who was also injured, posting a status update featuring schoolchildren at the time of the accident at 4.03 pm.
However, Nizam denied the allegations, claiming the status might have been updated automatically and blamed brake failure for the incident.
The driver also claimed that he had informed the school authorities earlier about the faulty brakes but they instructed him to continue using the bus until vacation.
Contradicting his claims, the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) found no issues with the brakes during their inspection.
The MVD’s enforcement wing stated that the accident was likely caused by overspeeding and an unscientific turn around a bend, with visible brake marks on the road suggesting driver’s error.
Nizam, who sustained leg injuries, said the bus lacked a valid fitness certificate. Its certificate had expired in December, he said.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the incident, focusing on potential negligence in vehicle maintenance and safety standards.
The validity of fitness certificates for Educational Institution Buses (EIBs) in Kerala has been extended till April 2025, to help schools avoid taking their buses for multiple fitness inspections in a single academic year.
Authorities have scheduled the mandatory fitness tests for these vehicles for April and May 2025. The extension was granted following a memorandum submitted by the Kerala Private School Management.
The Sreekandapuram police have registered an FIR under sections 281 (rash driving), 125A (endangering human lives), and 106(1) (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
