Seven students injured as van falls into pond

PALAKKAD: Seven nursery school students were injured when a school van overturned and fell into a nearby pond at Parli on Monday. Sheer luck prevented a major mishap. The students of Palackal English Medium School were alighting from the van at Parli when the vehicle overturned and fell into the pond. Students Anamika, Arjun, Nikhita, Nityashri, Adarsh, Samuel Mathew and Aditya were injured in the mishap. The seriously injured Anamika was taken to a private hospital in Coimbatore while Adarsh was admitted to a private hospital in Palakkad.There were nearly 30 students in the van when the mishap occurred. After the primary school students alighted from the van, the vehicle entered the school compound and halted there for the nursery students to get down. The driver alighted after switching off the engine. The students were coming out when the van tumbled backwards and fell into the pond around four metres away.A police team headed by Sub-inspector Rajappan from Mankara police station and the Fire and Rescue Services personnel from Palakkad rescued the students. Local people said that the driver did not exercise necessary caution, though the spot where the van halted was on a slope. A crane from Kottayi had to be called in to take the van out of the pond.