Jharkhand: 1 dead, 17 injured as auto-rickshaw with school students overturns in Latehar

LATEHAR: A 12-year-old boy died and 17 other children were injured after an auto-rickshaw carrying them from a school overturned in Jharkhand's Latehar district on Thursday, police said. Five of the critically injured students were referred to a hospital in Jharkhand's Gumla district for better treatment, they said.

The accident took place at Baskarcha village under Mahuadanr police station limits when the "overloaded" auto-rickshaw carrying around 22 students overturned after the driver lost control, a police officer said. The deceased were identified as Ankur Minz, a student of Class-7 at St Mikhail School in Latehar.

"The injured were admitted to a community health centre in Mahuadanr. Five students, who were seriously injured, have been referred to a hospital in Gumla for better treatment," he said. The driver and the vehicle owner fled after the incident, and a manhunt has been launched to nab them, the officer added.