13 students, driver injured as tourist minibus hits school bus near Mulky
A tourist minibus hit the rear of a school bus near Mulky on Friday afternoon, leaving 13 students and the school bus driver with minor injuries, the police said.
The accident took place at Kolnad, near the Mulky Sundarram Shetty Convention Hall, at around 3.40 p.m. The school bus belonged to Ryan International School and was parked at the time, according to the police. The SRS tourist minibus was travelling from Mulky towards Mangaluru when its driver lost control of the vehicle and rammed the rear of the school bus.
The impact pushed the school bus into a stormwater drain at the side of the road. The 13 students and the school bus driver sustained minor injuries. They were taken to a private hospital in Mulky, where they were undergoing treatment, the police said.
The Mangaluru Traffic North police station has registered a case in connection with the accident. The police said the case was filed under Sections 281 and 125(A) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Section 281 of the BNS deals with rash driving or riding on a public way. Section 125(A) deals with causing hurt by an act that endangers the life or personal safety of others. The BNS is the criminal law code that replaced the Indian Penal Code and came into effect on July 1, 2024. The BNSS and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act, respectively. The police cited both sections in their statement about the case.
Mulky is a town in Dakshina Kannada district, near Mangaluru. The accident occurred on a road near the Mulky Sundarram Shetty Convention Hall. The police station that registered the case, Mangaluru Traffic North, handles traffic-related offences in the city.
The police did not immediately provide details about the number of people travelling in the minibus or the ages of the injured students. The names of the injured students, the school bus driver and the minibus driver were not immediately released. It was also not clear how many students were on the school bus at the time. The hospital was not named by the police.
The police did not say what caused the minibus driver to lose control of the vehicle. They also did not say whether any arrest had been made. Further information about the accident is awaited.
Accidents involving school vehicles are a matter of public concern, and the police usually examine factors such as vehicle speed, driver error and road conditions as part of their investigation. In this case, the police have described the injuries as minor and said the students and the driver were being treated at a private hospital in Mulky.
The police said the injured students and the driver were taken to a private hospital in Mulky. The hospital was not named. Their treatment was ongoing, according to the police.
The police said a case had been registered at the Mangaluru Traffic North police station. The students and the driver were undergoing treatment at the private hospital in Mulky, the police added.
