About 15 children had a narrow escape after their school van fell into a pit dug to lay storm water drainage at Mogappair in Chennai on Monday afternoon.

The incident happened when the school van was dropping the children to their homes after school. An official told The New Indian Express that around 1:30pm, the van reached Sentamizh Street in Mogappair and as the driver was trying to reverse the van, the dug-up mud slid and the driver lost control of the van.

The vehicle fell into three-feet deep pit and the children had a miraculous escape due the steel rods which had been erected as part of the drain laying process.

The official said that as it is a residential area, the locals who heard the screams of the children immediately reached the spot, rescued them and took them to private hospital.

Witnesses told The Times of India that a warning board had been erected at the spot and the driver removed it so that he can reverse the vehicle.

Few of the children suffered injuries. The driver, Jacob, was arrested by the police and a case was registered under IPC Section 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way). The driver was remanded in judicial custody.

The residents said that storm water drain poses a threat to motorists and the work must be sped up.