There were 24 students in the school bus that got trapped after an embankment collapsed at Mylakkadu near Kottiyam in Adichanalloor, Kollam, on Friday. The bus, belonging to Kings School, Kottiyam, was on its way to drop students home after classes when the road suddenly caved in. Four vehicles—three cars and the school bus—were stranded on the damaged stretch after large cracks appeared on the approach road. The bus was the last vehicle in the line.

Thanks to the quick action of the bus staff, including the driver and ayah, all students were safely evacuated.

“The school staff, including the bus in-charge, reached the spot immediately and arranged another bus to take the children. By then, they had already been moved to safety and were later dropped off at home,” said Haridas, a member of the school trust, speaking to Onmanorama.

“With God’s grace, none of them were injured. The bus had children up to Class 12,” he said, adding that the school being only a kilometre away ensured prompt support.

The collapse occurred at an under-construction NH66 elevated highway site, leaving deep craters on the service road and trapping the vehicles. Local residents blamed unscientific construction, pointing to waterlogging and pressure build-up in the soil-filled area as possible reasons.

One of the vehicles that got trapped belonged to a woman veterinary doctor. She said she initially felt the vehicle shaking.

“I thought something was wrong with the car. As I slowed, one side of the vehicle began to lift off the ground. I realised something serious was happening and got out immediately. An autorickshaw driver nearby shouted at me to run,” she said.

She recalled seeing people rushing out of the vehicles behind, including the school bus. “I saw people carrying small children and running to safety, away from the collapse site,” she said.