Twenty-three students of a private school, aged between three and five years, were injured when the school bus they were in skidded off the road and turned on its side in a gorge in Sikkim's Singbel on Thursday.

The driver and two staffers of the institution, who were escorting the children, also suffered injuries in the accident.

Sources said the accident took place at Singbel, on the outskirts of Makha in Gangtok district, some 40km away from state capital Gangtok.

Local residents and police rescued the children. They were admitted to different hospitals.

Among the injured, 12 are under treatment at STNM Hospital and Central Referral Hospital in Gangtok. Others have been admitted to another hospital in Singtam.

Police investigations have started.

Accident death

A person died and five others got injured in a road accident at Kharibari of Darjeeling district on Thursday.

Police sources said an SUV was on its way to Siliguri from Panitanki along Asian Highway-II. While it was crossing Prasadujote, a wheel came unstuck and the vehicle collided head-on with a tractor.

Gangaprasad, 40, one of the passengers, died on the spot under the impact of the collision. The five injured were rescued and shifted to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital near Siliguri. Police have seized both the vehicles and have started a probe, said sources.