A milk tanker and a school van collided early Thursday morning in New Delhi, leaving one child dead and 17 children injured.
The accident happened near Kanhaiya Nagar Metro station in north Delhi when the van was on its way to a school located in northwest Delhi’s Keshav Puram.
The children, students of Kendriya Vidyalaya and Number One School, were from different parts of the city, as per media reports.
The drivers of both vehicles have been reportedly detained by the police, who confirmed that there were 18 children in the van. All the children are between seven and 15 years of age.
The condition of four children, being treated in different hospitals, is said to be critical.
The Delhi accident happened on the same day a school bus was rammed by a train at an unmanned railway crossing in Kushinagar district in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The accident killed at least 13 children on the spot. The driver died too.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who visited the hospital where the injured are being treated, has ordered an inquiry and announced an ex gratia amount of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the children who lost their lives.
Adityanath said he had spoken to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal regarding the safety and security of people and vehicles at unmanned railway crossings.
The Railway Minister, too, has announced an ex gratia Rs 2 lakh for the families of the victims, Rs 1 lakh for those with serious injuries and Rs 50,000 for those with simple injuries.