Nagapattinam, December 04: Nine children aged between five and eight years and a teacher were killed when the school van carrying them plunged into a roadside temple tank in rural Kathiripulam near Vedaranyam in Nagapattinam district on Thursday morning. The van driver, according to the police, was probably busy talking on his mobile phone when he lost control of the vehicle, which crashed into the tank embankment and plunged headlong into the water.
Twelve of the 21 children on board were rescued by villagers who rushed to the spot on hearing the screams of the children as the van fell into the 18-foot deep tank that was filled to capacity following the recent heavy rains. Nine children and a kindergarten teacher, Suganthi (22), who got trapped inside the vehicle, died before they could be taken out. All the children hailed from Nagakudayan village.
The children were studying in kindergarten and primary classes at Kalaivani Matriculation School in Kariapattinam, 10 kms away from their village. The driver, Mahendran, also a native of Nagakudayan village, initially attempted to rescue the children, but fled when he saw villagers rushing to the spot.
“I was inside my house when I heard a loud noise around 9am. Sensing that it could be a vehicle accident, I came running out of my house and saw the van sinking into the water in the tank. I alerted my neighbours and we rushed to the spot,” said Sironmani, who lives close to the Kamatchiamman temple tank. The tank is situated close to the narrow tar-topped road, which normally has very little or no traffic at all, said villagers.
—Agencies