Two children face the possibility of amputation, after they received serious lower limb injuries from the bus accident this morning near Edai Town.
No deaths were reported.
The accident involved a 25-seater shuttlebus full of primary school children who live at the housing estate at Boera, Central Province.
Most of the children escaped with bruises and minor injuries, but the condition of at least seven of them was serious.
An eight-year-old-boy was among them. He lost a lower limb and was scheduled to undergo surgery today.
At the Emergency Ward, most were nursing minor physical injuries but were still visibly in shock and were being comforted by their parents and families.
The Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) reported that its Emergency Department received seven (7) casualties from the incident. They attended to:
- 2 (children) with lower limb threats/amputation;
- 2 (children) with compound fractures; and
- 3 (children) with soft tissue injuries awaiting x-rays.
An anxious mother, Norma Dalu Heritrenggi, said her seven-year-old daughter sustained a compound fracture from the accident.
"Firstly, I was really worried if she's going to walk again or not but the doctors said her injury is not that serious so she can be able to walk again. My worry was that if she can't walk then it's going to be really hurtful to us as parents but then they assured us that she's going to be okay. So, we're really looking forward to her recovery. We'll take care of her at the hospital until she's fully recovered," she said.
The injured children were assisted by first responders who were travelling to the city for work. They had stopped and brought those who needed medical attention to PMGH. Others who appeared uninjured, were assisted by other motorists back home.
The accident occurred between 6:30 and 7am, during a routine school drop off for students who reside at Edai Town. The shuttle service is run by the Edai Town Management.
The driver of the bus was taken in for questioning this morning.