At least 22 students from St Xavier’s College, Ranchi, were injured after their bus overturned near Gangtok in Sikkim on Tuesday.

Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Tuesday spoke with his Sikkim counterpart Prem Singh Tamang for proper arrangements of medical treatment for the injured students.

“We have come to know that a bus carrying students of St Xavier’s College Ranchi on an educational tour to Gangtok (Sikkim) met with an accident at Rani Pul near Gangtok. I have spoken to the chief minister of Sikkim @PS Tamang Golay ji. Arrangements are being made for proper treatment of the children,” said Hemant in a statement issued by the chief minister’s secretariat.

“I have instructed the resident’s commissioner to be ready to airlift the children as well. At present, due to the local bad weather, we are not able to airlift the children, so arrangements have been made for proper treatment there,” it said.

St Xavier’s College principal Father Nabor Lakra confirmed the incident.

“We are thankful to the chief minister for acting so swiftly. Students of bachelor of education stream had gone for an educational trip to Sikkim. They had gone on train on June 22 and were returning on bus to Jalpaiguri station from where they were bound to catch a train for Ranchi when the mishap took place. We have come to know that barring five students, who have received head injuries, other students are stable with minor injuries,” said Father Lakra.

“We had gone by train to Sikkim on June 22 and were returning on Tuesday to Jalpaiguri to board the Kamakhya Express for Ranchi. There were 66 students who had gone on an educational tour in two buses along with a few faculties. One of the buses developed mechanical snag and could not apply brakes and turned sideways leading to injury to 22 students around 11am on Tuesday. All the injured students were admitted to the nearby Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences. However, according to hospital sources barring five students who have sustained head injuries all other students had minor injuries,” said Father Florence Purty, head of the BEd department of the college.

Sources in the Jharkhand chief minister’s secretariat informed that officials have been asked to monitor the condition of the students who have suffered head injuries.

“The entire medical expense of the students will be borne by the state government and as soon as the weather situation improves the students who have sustained head injuries would be arranged to be brought to Ranchi or taken to other higher centres by air for better medical treatment,” said an official in the chief minister’s secretariat.