30 Students Injured in West Bengal Bus Accident

As many as 30 students were injured after their school bus veered off the road and fell into a roadside ditch in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal's on Saturday, police said.

The accident occurred at Lakkhipur in the English Bazar area of the state's Malda district around 2.30pm.

"The bus was ferrying 70 students from government-owned Kendriya Vidyalaya to their homes when the driver lost control of the vehicle, leading to the accident," Malda police chief Pradeep Yadav told the media.

"Some 15 students have been admitted to the state-owned Malda Medical College and Hospital, and the condition of two of them are said to be serious," he said.

A probe has been ordered into the accident, the police chief said.

Road accidents are common in India, with one taking place every four minutes. These accidents are blamed on poor roads, rash driving and scant regard for traffic laws. 

The Indian government's implementation of stricter traffic laws in recent years has failed to rein in accidents, which claim over 100,000 lives every year.