Five-year-old girl dies in Ibri school bus accident

Vinod Nair -

Muscat, Feb 20 -

A five-year-old girl was killed on Tuesday when the school bus she was travelling in collided with a mini-bus in Ibri, raising concerns over the safety of school transport.

According to a Royal Oman Police (ROP) source, 20 students, including the girl — a kindergarten student — were travelling in the bus when the incident occurred.

Some students suffered moderate to light injuries.

According to eyewitnesses, the school bus did not meet the safety standards. They have sought proper surveillance systems like CCTV cameras and other safety mechanisms to ensure buses are operated in a safe manner.

“Despite warnings and penalties, a large number of school bus drivers continue to use mobile phones when driving. Many drivers are young and they should be made aware of their responsibilities,” Salem said in his post on social media.

Some said school buses continue to ferry more than the stipulated number of students, making them vulnerable during collisions or sudden application of brakes.

“The incident also brings to light the importance of seatbelts, including in school buses, as it will reduce the risk of death of passengers in the front seat by 40-50 per cent,” said the ROP sources.

It reduces the risk of death between 25 per cent and 75 per cent for passengers in the rear seat, it said.

The manager of a school transport service in the capital, however, said making students wear seatbelts was “not practicable”.

“What is more reasonable is to have an attendant in buses to monitor students.”

“It is difficult to get drivers at short notice. Hence, we persist with violators at times,” he said.

Manjusha, the mother of an Indian school student, said parents have to “keep their fingers crossed” till the children return home safely.

Last year, the government said it would draw up a plan to make drivers, teachers and the bus operators equally responsible for the safe transport of students.

Subsequently, a bus tracking system was launched under which vehicles would be equipped with six cameras and eight sensors. Cameras would be installed both inside and outside the buses. Parents will also be able to track the movement of buses on their smartphones and get SMS alerts.