Six children killed, 15 injured as school bus overturns in India’s Haryana

The bus driver was trying to overtake another vehicle, causing the accident, police said

At least six children have been killed and 15 others injured after a school bus overturned in the Indian state of Haryana, the Hindustan Times reports.

The bus, belonging to the GL Public School in Kanina, had an accident near the Unhani village in the Mahendragarh District on Thursday as the driver tried to overtake another vehicle, according to Indian police.

The school was open despite the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday, the Indian news outlet noted.

“The injured students were rushed to various hospitals in Mahendergarh and Narnaul. The official documents show that the bus's fitness certificate had expired six years ago in 2018,” a senior police official told the Hindustan Times.

Witnesses claimed the bus driver was drunk.

Haryana education minister Seema Trikha said she had instructed the police to visit the hospital where students are receiving treatment and to launch an investigation into the situation.