Miraculous escape for students at Mamom

Thiruvananthapuram: Fifteen children and a teacher had a miraculous escape when their school bus fell into a stream at Mamom near Attingal on

Wednesday. Four students and the teacher, who suffered minor injuries,  were taken to Chirayinkeezh taluk hospital for treatment. The rest were given first aid at another hospital at Valiyakunnu. The driver also escaped unhurt.

The incident happened when the bus belonging to Saraswati Vidya Niketan, Valiyakunnu,   was coming down a steep incline on the road connecting Mamom old bridge and Mamom temple.  The driver  lost control of the vehicle which  fell into  the stream 15 feet below the road around 3.30 p.m. The stream flowing  to the Vamanapuram river did not have much water which averted a major tragedy.  

The police said that there was no safety wall along the road which is not a regular bus route. The bus went that way owing to the maintenance works  on the main road between Mamom and Korani.

Though  there were 37 students and  two teachers in the bus, the driver had asked  the high school students and one teacher to get off the bus and walk through stretch. The accident happened after they got down.

Police found that the vehicle’s breaking system was not working properly. The police and  fire and rescue services  pulled out the bus from the stream.