By; RAYMOND TEDUNJAYE, Lagos
Tragedy struck a Lagos based school at the weekend, as two students suffocated and died in their school bus.
Several others were said to have gone into coma in the bus, following the intensity of the heat caused by the fumes from the engine of the vehicle.
New NIgerian gathered that the incident occurred around Aguda axis of Surulere area of the state, while the bus was on transit.
As gathered, some of the victims were still hospitalized at Lagos State Teaching Hospital (LUTH) in Idi-Araba while some were said to be on admission at Randle hospital in Surulere.
Meanwhile, the driver of the school bus, identified as Odunsa Mandala, has been arrested by the Police for interrogation.
Sources said that the driver was returning the pupils back to their homes after the close of school when the incident occurred.
It was learnt that the pupils repeatedly complained to him about how uncomfortable they felt on the bus but he allegedly ignored their complaints, considering them as not too important.
Mandala, was said to have ignored them until most of the students had suffocated and passed out, a development that was said to have been realized very late by him.
When he saw the state they were in, it was gathered that he raised an alarm and the pupils were rushed to the hospitals for care but at this time, the tragedy had occurred.
Confirming the tragedy on Saturday, the Command spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, said that the incident occurred yesterday and that the driver has been arrested and was currently being interrogated, to ascertain what transpired before the incident.
In a statement released through his social media handle, he said: “Yes, the driver has been arrested but the young souls are already gone, sadly so. A school bus driver ignored repeated complaints from the kids he was taking home that they were not feeling well. Some of the kids went unconscious, and two eventually died.
“Schools need to up their game in recruitment and pay more attention to job fit. Parents too need to do thorough background checks of schools and crèches before entrusting their kids into their care'< it added.
The police spokesperson, meanwhile, disclosed that the relevant regulatory agencies in Lagos have been notified of this act of gross negligence. Security is everyone’s business.”
