A bus full of East Oktibbeha High School students had to be evacuated Wednesday when it became stuck in high water.
The bus was attempting to drive around a stalled car at a low intersection on Hickory Grove Road when part of the bus rolled into a ditch and became stuck shortly after 7:30 a.m.
The East Oktibbeha Fire Department responded and removed several students using a tractor with a front-end loader. Soon a boat was brought to the scene and the remaining students were able to make their way from the bus to dry land by crossing the boat.
County Fire Coordinator Kirk Rosenhan said the Oktibbeha County Sheriff”s Office was also on the scene, and the 25-30 students were never in any danger. Howeer, the decision was made to evacuate the bus as a precaution before towing it out of the deep water.
Oktibbeha School District Superintendent James Covington said the bus is in good working condition after the accident. He said a similar incident occurred at the same intersection about eight years ago.
The students, unable to leverage a day off in spite of the mishap, were loaded on another bus and taken to school.
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