BENGALURU: More than 50 children of a government school had a narrow escape as a tree came crashing down during I-Day celebrations on the school premises. The copper pod tree hurt four students, with two of them suffering major fractures in their right leg.
The incident took place at Sri Thimmaiahreddy Government High School around 8.35 am in Beratena Agrahara of Singasandra ward. Among the four injured were two brothers; nine-year-old S Rakesh (4th standard) and 13-year-old S Lakshmikanth (6th standard). Rakesh’s right femur bone was broken while Lakshmikanth’s right heel bone fractured. 13-year-old Imran Khan (6th standard) suffered head injury and nine-year-old M Shashank (4th standard) sustained spinal injuries.
Hanumagowda, an employee of BMW showroom adjacent to the school wherein more than 400 students study, said that the impact of the crash was reduced as the tree fell on the compound wall of the school before falling on the students. “The tree also brought down few electricity poles, short circuiting several electrical instruments like televisions, washing machine, etc in the vicinity,” he said.
Narrating the incident to TNIE, Lakshmikanth, who was admitted in a private hospital, said that “We were all gathering to get ready for I-Day prayer. The tree suddenly came crashing down on us”.
Jagadish, a relative of Rakesh, said that parents of the injured brothers were poor. Mother Sundaramma works at a factory in Singasandra, while her husband is in Andhra Pradesh. Parents of other two children also had poor financial background.
Late arrival of teacher saved many lives
“Had the physical education teacher arrived the school on time, the tragedy would have struck more than 50 children,” said Hanumagowda. A forest officer said that all four children, except Rakesh, were discharged from the private hospital. However, the relatives denied it, claiming all the four children were still in the hospital. The doctors were operating on Rakesh’s femur bone fracture as of 9 pm, they said. When contacted, Deputy Director of Public Instructions Ashwatha Narayana Gowda confirmed that the students were being treated at a local private hospital. The local authorities of the department have visited the hospital. Meanwhile, BEO provided Rs 10,000 to meet the immediate expenses of their treatment, he added.