HARIPUR, April 24: Three schoolchildren were killed while 21 others sustained injuries in two road accidents in the jurisdiction of Saddar police station here on Thursday.

Police said that a Suzuki van bearing No. 8889-LHK carrying ten school children was on its way to Haripur from village Bagra when a speeding Mazda truck bearing No. 6591 LHA collided head on with it near village Mera Toot on the GT road, some 6 kilometres from here injuring all on board.

The injured were moved to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ), Haripur from where two seriously injured students were shifted to the Ayub Medical Complex (AMC), Abbottabad who according to the police expired on their way. The deceased were later identified as Bilal son of Iqbal and Sahib son of Saleem residents of village Bagra.

Meanwhile, in another road accident a schoolchild was killed and fourteen others were injured. The police said that fifteen children were on their way to their schools from village Neelor to Haripur on a Datsun pickup bearing No. 3081-Peshawar, when the vehicle fell into a roadside ravine near Neelor Mor, killing a student on the spot and injuring the rest.

The injured and the deceased were rushed to the DHQ, hospital. The deceased was identified as Umair son of Tanvir resident of village Neelor.

LIQUOR SEIZED: The police on Thursday claiming to have arrested a drug peddler allegedly involved in narcotics smuggling foiled an attempt to smuggle a large quantity of liquor to Haripur from Punjab.