Shubhlakshmi Shukla(With PTI)

Bodeli (Vadodara), APRIL 16: At least 44 people were killed when a state transport bus carrying them fell into the 60-foot deep Narmada canal here in Vadodara district on Wednesday morning. Of the 44 bodies fished out from the canal, 41 are those of students, including 30 girls. Driver Madhusudan Baria and conductor Ghanshyam Padhiyar are also among the dead. For 50-odd students, the bus was the usual means of transport to the nearest higher secondary school at Bodeli town from their villages.

While rescue operations are still on, four students have survived the accident. They are undergoing treatment at a hospital in Bodeli. They have been identified as Mamta Baria, Sunil, Alpesh and Rahul.

The accident took place at around 6.30 am when the driver of the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation bus lost control and the vehicle broke the railings of the bridge over the canal and fell into it. The water level in the canal was up to 4.6 metres, due to which the bus got submerged and a rescue team took a while to locate it, eyewitnesses said.

Meanwhile, people from the nearby villages started the rescue work after the accident. Among the dead, 19 students were from Bamroli village died and eight students from Patan Pittha.

The Sardar Sarovar Project authorities decided to immediately stop the supply of water to the Narmada main canal and brought the level of the water to 2.6 metres to help the rescue operations, Chief Engineer of Project S Srinivas said. Three cranes were pressed into services to pull the bus (GJ-18-V 3697) out after the water level was reduced, the district administration said.

The officials said they would continue the search operation till dusk as they thought more bodies were likely to be found from the canal.

“A truck driver stopped and threw in a rope while one uncle strung his shawl and pulled us out. I only know that I swam,” said a shocked Mamta lying on the hospital bed. Sunil said he could save his life as he broke open a window dragging a seat and paddled till he was rescued.

Bamroli village, which lost the maximum number of students, was under a pall of gloom. “She had promised to help me in the fields. We are poor, but we wanted her to study as she was very good in her studies. She met me instead of her parents before going to appear for her exams,” said a distraught Vasant Baria, uncle of Renuka Baria (13), a Class VIII student who died in the mishap.

Families of most of the students are tribals, who work hard to send their children to school. The announcement of Rs 1 lakh ex gratia to the family of deceased by the state Government brought little relief to them.

A high-level committee headed by state Principal Secretary (Ports and Transport) H K Dash will inquire into the accident.

editor@expressindia.com