Father watches as daughter dies in accident

Palakkad (Kerala) | In a tragic accident, a seven-year-old girl died in front of her father after falling from a scooter and being run over by a bus at Kozhinjampara in this north Kerala district on Monday morning, police said.

The deceased has been identified as Nafisath Misriya, a second-standard student at St Paul's School in Kozhinjampara.

According to police, the accident occurred when Nafisath and her father were riding the scooter towards the school on the Palakkad-Pollachi Road.

The scooter lost control after an auto rickshaw ahead applied a sudden brake due to a large pothole in the road.

As a result, both the man and his daughter fell onto the road.

However, Nafisath fell to the right side of the road and was run over by a bus coming from behind, police said.

Though she died on the spot, people who gathered at the location rushed her to the hospital, where she was confirmed dead, they said.

The father of the deceased escaped with minor injuries in the accident.

The incident led to mass protests in the area as people claimed that accidents have become frequent there due to the bad road conditions.

The police said that they have initiated an investigation into the incident, and a case will be registered shortly.

The body of the deceased has been shifted to a government hospital for further procedures.

State General Education Minister V Sivankutty has expressed his condolences over the tragic death of the girl.

Sivankutty shared a message and a photograph of Nafisath on his Facebook page.

"It is with deep sorrow that I heard the news of the death of Nafisath Misriya, a second-grade student, in the accident at Kozhinjampara after being hit by a bus. This heartbreaking incident occurred while she was on her way to school with her father on a scooter and has left us all in deep grief," the post read.

He added, "The sudden loss of that little child, full of dreams, is unbearable pain. I share in the sorrow of Nafisath Misriya's family, classmates, and teachers during this tragedy."