35 schoolkids rescued as bus overturns in causeway near Morbi

RAJKOT/AHMEDABAD: About 35 schoolchildren had a providential escape after their bus got stranded in an overflowing causeway near Morbi town on Thursday morning. Despite the collector's directive to keep all educational institutes closed due to a heavy-rain warning, the authorities of Neelkanth Vidyala didn’t care and sent the bus driver to pick up children from Rajpur Kuntasi village.The bus driver attempted to cross over to the other side from the causeway but one of the wheels got stuck. The bus also started to topple. As the children started screaming for help, locals rushed there and rescued them.Morbi collector IK Patel also rushed to the spot. "I had sent out messages at 4:30am that all schools should remain closed in the wake of heavy rainfall. Yet, the school administration didn’t listen and asked the driver to pick up the children," Patel told TOI.An offence was lodged against the bus driver and he has been arrested.The school administration officials were summoned by the collector and given a warning. They have also been issued a show-cause notice for defying the collector's directive and putting lives of 35 children at risk.