Chandigarh: A student was killed and 18 of her mates sustained injuries after an old tree fell on them inside a school complex here Friday, officials said. A staff attendant of the institution, Carmel Convent School in Chandigarh’s Sector IX area, also sustained injuries, they informed.
Police and fire department officials reached the spot within 10 minutes of the accident. The injured were taken to a government multi-speciality hospital in Sector 16 and to PGIMER, while some were taken to Fortis hospital in Mohali. Sources at the PGIMER said one student, aged around 16, was declared brought dead at the hospital. They said that the condition of most of the injured was stable.
According to eyewitnesses, there was panic in the school complex after the tree, declared a ‘heritage’ by the administration, suddenly collapsed.
Home Secretary, Chandigarh Administration, Nitin Yadav said most students of senior classes were having their lunch when the incident took place. “The incident was reported at 11.10am. It was an old peepal tree, a kind of a heritage tree. Injuries to 19 students and a staff attendant were reported in the incident. We have confirmation of a child’s death in the incident,” Yadav told reporters at the incident site.
Out of the total injured, 11 have suffered minor injuries and were being treated at GMSH in Sector 16, and they will be discharged after medical examination, an official statement later said.
Four students who also suffered minor injuries went to two private hospitals in Mohali and Chandigarh, and were reported to be stable.
The statement said among the total injured students, two suffered fractures, and on request from parents, one of them was referred to PGIMER for further management.
Some parents who rushed to the school after the incident said the peepal tree was an old one, stated to be around 250 years old and 70 feet tall.
At the incident site, a half-eaten apple and other food items lay scattered as the children got very little time to react when the giant tree came crashing down.
Horticulture department officials later began removing the tree from the spot. It also damaged a portion of the school’s boundary wall. The tree was located close to the school’s entry gate.
A three-member committee set up to conduct the probe has been asked to submit a report within one week. The panel comprises the SDM (Central) of the Union territory of Chandigarh, executive engineer of horticulture, and the range forest officer of the Chandigarh forest department.
Rajinder, whose daughter studies at the school, told reporters that parents received phone calls from the institution informing them about the incident. He said his daughter was safe.
Another parent, who rushed to the school after the incident, said the tree had been declared a ‘heritage’ by the administration, and it was their duty to see if it was in a healthy state.
Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya said he was deeply shocked over the incident. “Prayers for the safety and well being of all children,” Dattatreya tweeted.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was also among those who reacted to the incident. “Deeply distressed to hear about the accident in a private school in Chandigarh. An innocent child lost his life while several are injured. I extend my deepest condolences to the family of the deceased child & also pray for the speedy recovery of those injured,” Mann tweeted.