Kids safe as school bus crashes on SZR

All 30 children and four teachers travelling on the Delhi Private School (DPS) bus that collided with a workers’ transportation vehicle are safe, the principal of the school has said. 

However, the driver of the school bus has been admitted to the hospital and is undergoing treatment for a fractured leg, said Rashmi Nandkeolyar, Principal, DPS.

Speaking to Emirates 24|7, an official from DPS Dubai said the accident occurred around 7.15am on Tuesday, and involved bus No. 61, which was on its way to the school with the children. “Bus number 61 met with an accident on Sheikh Zayed Road. All 30 students and four teachers in the bus are safe and have reached the school. Parents have been calling up since morning and we are informing them about the accident and the childrens' safety. Only the bus driver sustained fracture and injuries, but he is in hospital,” said the DPS official.

However, according to another source in the school, apart from the driver (Ravindran), the bus conductor, Nehru, as well as a teacher (Prabha) also received injuries.

The accident occurred when the workers’ transportation bus changed lanes and slowed down abruptly. “The driver of the school bus panicked and hit against the other bus,” said one school employee who spoke to one of the injured in the bus.

“The driver has sustained a fracture in his leg and is being treated at the hospital. One of the occupants of the other vehicle is also said to have been seriously injured and had to be airlifted after the collision,” he added.

The incident occurred on Dubai’s busy Sheikh Zayed Road near the exit to the Palm Island going toward Abu Dhabi, close to the old Hard Rock Café and Dubai Media City. Traffic pile-up stretched from the scene of the accident to almost the first interchange. "It took almost an hour for me to reach office, whereas on any other day I cover the same distance in 12 minutes,” said Kanchana R, whose office is located near the Mall of The Emirates.

Details of the workers involved in the crash is not yet known. School bus safety has been a serious issue and drivers are instructed to keep minimum speed and new buses with improved safety features are introduced by the Road Transport Authority. 

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