Kerala woke up to the news of a ghastly accident that occured when a bus full of school children collided with a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus in the wee hours of Thursday, October 6. Nine people, including five students and three passengers of the KSRTC bus, were killed. As per preliminary information, the driver of the tour bus carrying the school children — who is accused of driving rashly and causing the accident — is absconding.
Transport Minister Antony Raju told the media that as per preliminary information, the driver, Jojo Pathrose, was driving carelessly and that the bus was speeding. The bus was taking the students, who studied at the Baselios School in Mulanthuruthy, from Ernakulam to Ooty on a tour. At about 11.30 pm on Wednesday, the bus was trying to overtake the KSRTC bus when the two collided. Asianet News quoted a nurse from EK Nayanar hospital, where some of the injured were admitted, as saying that Pathrose sought treatment there early on Thursday, claiming that he was a teacher. Later, the owners of the bus came to the hospital and identified him as the driver, before taking him away. The Vadakkencherry police told TNM that Pathrose has not been taken into custody and that there is information that he is absconding. The Regional Transport Officer also said that they have not received information about him.
Fr Viju Alias, a member of the school Parent Teachers Association, told TNM that the school had hired Jojo several times in the past to arrange for tours. “He would arrange buses for the school tours. We had no information about negligence then,” he said. Reports state that Jojo had returned from a long trip to Tamil Nadu before driving the students to Ooty, and that exhaustion may have led to rash driving on his part. However, Viju Alias said that he did not seem tired when the bus left the school, and if the parents noticed his fatigue, they would not have allowed him to drive.
The Kerala government, meanwhile, has assigned officers of the Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) to inquire about the accident and submit a report. Transport Commissioner R Sreejith has been assigned to inquire about the accident. Minister MB Rajesh, who is from Palakkad and in charge of the district, has visited the hospitals where the injured are admitted.
Antony Raju told the media that the tour bus rammed into the KSRTC bus as Jojo was trying to overtake a car. “There was a little delay in shifting the injured to the hospital as the number of vehicles plying at that time was less,” he said. The minister further said that private schools that hire tourist buses usually do not inquire about the background or history of the drivers. “The MVD has this year given training for drivers of school buses. If the schools collect and handover information of the drivers to the MVD, they will be able to enquire about them, their experience and history,” he continued. .
As many as 38 people who were injured in the accident are under treatment, of whom four are in a serious condition. The injured have been shifted to both the Medical College Hospital Thrissur and the Taluk Hospital at Alathur.
Watch the video of the accident