Six schoolchildren were killed and around 20 injured when a rashly driven bus carrying them overturned in Haryana’s Mahendragarh on Thursday, with medical tests suggesting the driver was drunk.

Education minister Seema Trikha, who visited the injured students at hospitals, said a showcause notice had been issued to the private school, asking it to explain why it was open on Thursday despite it being a holiday on account of Eid.

The bus was being driven rashly at a high speed due to which the driver lost control and rammed the vehicle into a tree after which it overturned, police said, citing reports. Dharmender was under the influence of alcohol, the police said.

The bus was carrying 40 children and the accident occurred near Unhani village in Kanina, they said.

“Six children have died and around 20 are injured,” superintendent of police, Mahendragarh, Arsh Verma, said.

Police said the driver was caught from the accident site and his medical examination confirmed he was under the influence of alcohol. Police have also arrested school principal Deepti and one more school official whose name is Hoshiar Singh.

Haryana education minister Trikha said it was a “very sad” incident. “Our focus right now is to provide treatment to the injured children,” Trikha said.

A doctor at a hospital near the accident site where 20 of the injured children were taken told reporters that four students were brought dead and one, who was put on
ventilator support, succumbed to injuries.

After preliminary treatment, the injured students were taken to a government hospital, he said.

Hearing the cries of the children, some passersby rushed to help, pulling out the kids from the severely damaged bus. An injured student told reporters that the driver was driving at a high speed. The driver appeared drunk, he said.