Five school children among 6 killed in Patiala accident

PATIALA: Five schoolchildren were among six killed in a head-on collision between an SUV and a sand-laden truck on Patiala-Samana road near Nassupur village in Punjab's Patiala district Wednesday afternoon. Seven others were injured in the accident. The truck driver, Bhupinder Singh, has been arrested.The SUV was carrying the students - aged between seven and 12 - to Samana from their school in Patiala's Sular Road when it collided with the truck. The impact pushed the SUV off the road, and it crashed into a tree. The vehicle's front portion was mangled beyond recognition and rescuers had to use a JCB to retrieve the bodies of the deceased children.The victims were identified as Bhavyan Sachdeva (8) and his elder sister Bhivanshi Sachdeva (11), Aradhya Lumba (10) and Parv Sachdeva (12), all from Samana. Another 10-year-old girl student, Sehjal Bansal, succumbed at a Patiala hospital. The deceased SUV driver was Balwinder Singh from Fatehpur village.Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann condoled the tragedy. Expressing profound grief and sorrow, he shared his heartfelt sympathies with the members of the bereaved families. He said the injured children were under treatment in various hospitals in Patiala. CM Mann said he was in touch with the district administration and had directed them to ensure the best medical facilities for all the injured.