KARACHI: At least 31 schoolchildren and three teachers sustained injuries when a dumper truck hit a coaster hired by a school for a picnic party on Northern Bypass on Saturday morning, police and hospital officials said.

The condition of five schoolgirls, including two sisters, was stated to be critical. They were admitted to different hospitals.

The driver of the dumper truck, Amir Baz, was arrested and the vehicle impounded, the Gulshan-i-Maymar police station acting SHO, Akbar Ali, said.

The SHO said the management of a private school in Surjani Town had hired three coasters for a picnic party. They were on their way to a water park in Gadap.

When they reached at Abbas Cut on the Northern Bypass, a dumper truck hit one of the coasters in which around 40 students and teachers were travelling.

It was a head-on collision between the truck and the bus, said the officer.

As a result, around 31 children and three teachers sustained injuries.

They were taken to a nearby private hospital in Gulshan-i-Maymar, the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for treatment.

However, 30 wounded persons were discharged after first aid, said the SHO.

Five schoolgirls were admitted for further treatment. One of the girls, eight-year-old Afza, was taken to the JPMC.

“She received wounds on her head and her condition was critical,” said Dr Seemin Jamali, executive director of the JPMC.

Four other girl students who were admitted to the Abbasi Hospital were identified as two sisters, Aleeza Nadeem and Sawera Nadeem, Hufsa Nasir and Uzma Rafiq — all aged between 10 to 12 years.

Their condition was serious, said the police officer.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2017