Schoolgirls, teachers suffer injuries in highway mishap

A group of schoolgirls and teachers sustained multiple injuries in a traffic accident that occurred on King Faisal Highway in Manama, close to Bahrain Financial Harbour (BFH), yesterday. According to the Education Ministry, the accident victims were rushed to the Accident and Emergency Department at Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC), were they received the necessary treatment. For his part, Patients’ Relations Adviser at SMC Mohammed Jassim said in a statement that all 16 students and two teachers were discharged from the hospital, clarifying that they suffered bruises and minor wounds.  

He explained in a statement released by Health Ministry that the children and their teachers were admitted by the department at 10:30 am and were released in the late afternoon, after the medical team conducted the necessary tests and diagnosis, and provided them with the required treatment. Education Minister Dr Majid Al Nuaimi visited the injured students and teachers at SMC, where he was briefed by the medical team on their conditions and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

The Traffic Directorate as well as the Education Ministry has launched many schemes to ensure the safety of students as the new academic year began a few weeks ago. The Director of Traffic Culture, Salah Shahab said that the back-to-school is an opportunity for the General Directorate of Traffic to enhance awareness among students and parents. He said that the department launched the ‘Safe Return’ initiative to ensure the safety of students from traffic accidents. He said the ‘Thank You’ initiative continues through the campaign to encourage drivers to follow the rules near schools.

The initiative is backed by Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco), through providing Sadeem Fuelling Cards for drivers and honouring innovative students. He said that during the current academic year, a new traffic curriculum and traffic culture would be taught for secondary school students to tackle current traffic challenges. He said that the directorate had held meetings and lectures for parents, school guards, community police personnel and bus drivers to promote the traffic safety near schools.