LAGOS NOVEMBER 12TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Five young girls were killed, and 21 other students were injured after a bus taking them to school skidded off the road and plunged into a pond in Cambodia.
At around 7:10 a.m. local time on Tuesday, Nov. 10, a bus traveling to the BELTEI International School crashed in Kandal province, around 25 miles north of Phnom Penh, the country’s capital city, according to a translated press release shared by the Kandal Provincial Police Commissariat.
The 31-year-old driver of the vehicle, which was operated by a private company hired by students’ guardians, is believed to have swerved to avoid a motorbike that crossed the road. The driver then lost control of the vehicle, before it plunged into the pond, authorities said, citing a preliminary assessment.
The five girls died by drowning, according to Nov Sokhon, chief traffic police of Khsach Kandal district, per the Associated Press. The victims, from Pea Reang district, Prey Veng province, were between the ages of 12 and 14, The Phnom Penh Post reported.
The white 25-seater Mitsubishi bus was carrying 26 school students — 12 boys and 14 girls — at the time of the crash, local police said in the press release.
Three students sustained serious injuries following the incident, while 18 suffered minor injuries, authorities confirmed.
Locals rushed to the scene of the crash to pull the children out, with some performing CPR, witness Sun Kunthy told the AP. Officer Nov Sokhon said that the death toll could have been even higher if nearby residents had not got to the children in time, per the news agency.
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The driver has been detained by authorities, with police adding in the translated release that officers were currently compiling a case file.
Police alleged in the release that the driver was traveling at high speed “without due caution” when the crash occurred
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