Two schoolgirls have been confirmed dead and five others injured as a wall collapsed at the New Century School, Kukatpally in Hyderabad on Thursday. Of the five injured, one is critical, the police said.
The two girls, Mahi Keerthana and Chandana, were both fourth-grade students. The incident happened at around 2:30 pm. Those who were near the vicinity helped rescue the five from under the rubble, after which an ambulance was called in.
“Both the children were killed immediately and the five who were rescued have been rushed to the hospital. The situation of one of the children is said to be critical,” said Bhujanga Rao, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kukatpally, Cyberabad Commissionerate.
“Six children were admitted to the hospital. They later brought one more girl. Two of the children were declared dead while one boy fractured his leg and suffered injuries on his hand and abdomen. Following this, we conducted an emergency intubation and arranged for two blood packets, before referring him to another hospital. One more girl who suffered head injuries was also sent to the same hospital,” a doctor from Anupama Hospital told the local media.
Speaking to a local media outlet, Kukatpally MLA Madhavaram Krishna Rao, who visited the premises of the school and hospital, said, "We went to the spot and saw that it was an old construction. The death of two children has occurred due to the negligence of the school management. There is also the responsibility of government officials who grant permission for such schools. We will also launch an investigation and find out who is guilty and take action. We have decided to bear the medical expenses of the deceased and one more student who is grievously injured. We even shifted her to Apollo hospital for better treatment.”
He also said that two accused from the management have been arrested while one was absconding. For the families of the deceased, he assured that the government would grant an ex-gratia.
“We will plan to cancel the license of the school but we also have to consider the lives of the children already in that school. It will be tough to get them admission immediately in another school, we will discuss this and plan our future course of action,” Krishna Rao added.
Based on a complaint by the parents, the local police have booked a case of negligence and said that further investigation was underway.
Earlier, in April, one person was killed and another was injured after a portion of an old building located in Chandanagar Huda Colony collapsed while the structure was being demolished.
In January 2017, eleven people were killed after a seven-storey under construction building collapsed. All the victims of that tragedy were construction workers and their family members were sleeping in the cellar when the building came crashing down. The Telangana government had announced Rs 10 lakh ex-gratia each for the families of the dead after the incident.
Related to that case, the police had arrested builder Satyanarayana Singh in Kerala. He was booked under a case of negligence and for culpable homicide not amounting to murder for constructing the building without permission and in violation of rules.
Overseeing the quality of construction work undertaken in the city rests with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). The death of eleven people had led to the suspension of a deputy commissioner of GHMC and an assistant town planning officer.
This is a developing story.