Two students, aged 12 and 15 years, were fighting for their lives at the Labasa Hospital on the night of June 23, 1998 after being hit and dragged at least 20 metres by a bus.

An article published by The Fiji Times the next day said the accident happened when the students, one in Form 1 and the other in Form 4, were walking to school.

Witnesses said the students were hit from behind by a bus taking school children at the time.

Nearby residents rushed to the scene to help pull out the students who were trapped under the bus at Nagata Rd for at least 30 minutes.

Labasa Hospital medical superintendent Dr Esala Nainoca said the Naduna Secondary School students suffered extensive head injuries and were under observation.

Prem Chand, who was one of the first to arrive on the scene, said the students were already unconscious when they were pulled from under the bus.

He alleged the bus was speeding at the time and lost control before it had veered off the road, ploughing the students down.

“There were school children standing on the bus steps at the time and luckily they were not thrown out of the bus when it ran off the road,” he said.

Police at the scene stated gravel roads, coupled with an overloaded speeding bus, was a combination open to disaster.

Divisional Police Commander Northern Superintendent Jone Poese said the driver was still being questioned.

The accident was the second in two days for the Northern town.

On June 22, a private vehicle had veered off the road at Waiqele after one of the tyres blew up.

Two passengers suffered injuries and were admitted to the hospital.

On the afternoon of June 23, one of the accident victims was airlifted to the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva for further treatment.

Police had cautioned motorists, particularly those frequently travelling on gravel roads to drive carefully.