India: Children among the two dozen dead in bus crash amid dense fog
At least 24 people, with the vast majority children, died on Thursday when a truck crashed into a school bus amid dense fog southeast of New Delhi, India.
A speeding truck, loaded with sand, collided with the school bus head-on in India’s Etah district. The bus was carrying children between the ages of 3 and 12, according to the Associated Press.
The Associated Press reports that at least two dozen other children sustained injuries. A report from The Times of India lists the number of injured at 50, 36 of whom had critical injuries.
The crash happened about 270 km (170 miles) southeast of New Delhi.
A police officer told the Associated Press that visibility was low due to dense fog.
In this image from video, people gather at the site where a truck loaded with sand collided with a school bus in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, 19 January 2017. (KK Production via AP)
Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi reported visibility of 400 meters (a quarter mile) or less through the morning of Thursday until 9.30 IST (11 p.m. EST Wednesday).
About 240 kilometers to the southeast of the accident at the international airport in Lucknow, visibility was down to zero from 8.00 to 8.30 IST and did not improve to 800 meters (half of a mile) until 10.00.
“Northern India has been stuck in a stagnant air mass, which has caused smog and haze issues for places like New Delhi,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Rob Richards said. “This can easily reduce visibility, making travel difficult at times.”
The stagnant weather pattern will hold through this week. Visibility will be lowest and pose the greatest hazards to motorists from the late-night to mid-morning hours.
The crash occurred despite officials closing all schools in the district due to the cold wave, according to the Associated Press.
Temperatures have dropped to 4 to 6 C (lower 40s F) eight out of the last 10 mornings in New Delhi. Lows between 0 and 4 C (30s F) gripped Lucknow from 12 January to 15 January.
There are signs that a storm system could deliver rain and briefly sweep away the fog and haze from northern India around the middle of next week.
Report a Typo
