An unregistered pool car carrying eight children to school collided with a private bus near Howrah Maidan around 7.45am on Friday. The children were not injured.

Witnesses said the pool car (a Tata Sumo) and the bus (on route 55A) lost control and collided on the approach to Bankim Setu.

Both drivers fled, leaving behind their damaged vehicles that were later impounded. A caretaker who was accompanying the children took them to school on a bus, said witnesses.

Local residents alleged that the cops arrived late, though the spot is barely 50 yards from the police station.

Samir Chatterjee, the inspector-in-charge of Howrah police station, said: “We have launched a probe and are looking for the drivers.” He, however, failed to identify the children or the school in which they study.