CHENNAI : The remaining 17 children, who were part of the summer camp in Pune, which turned tragic when three children drowned on Wednesday, were brought back home safe on Sunday night.
Parents of the children were made to assemble at the ECI Matriculation School premises in Tondiarpet where transport was organised to take them to the airport, said one of the relatives of the children. “The school asked the parents to assemble at around 2.30 pm on the campus and then they were taken to the airport,” said the mother of a student who was chosen for the trip.
“My son was back home by 8.30 pm and I was just so glad to see him. It was a huge relief to see that he was okay. The last few days have been very hard. The boys who died were my son’s friends. They have eaten in my house. The loss is very personal.” Her son, though tired, spoke to Express and confirmed that the 17 children were all safe and had not suffered any injuries.
An official from the Directorate of Matriculation Schools told Express on Saturday that a government representative had been sent to bring the children back on Sunday. The deceased students — K Danish Raja, S Saravana Kumar and G Santhosh — were all residents of Nethaji Nagar in Tondiarpet and among the 20 students chosen to attend the summer camp. They drowned in the backwaters of the Mulshi dam, which is about 40km from Pune. The school is facing an enquiry over the deaths during the summer camp that was organised by the non-governmental organisation, Teach For India (TFI), in collaboration with Pune-based Jackukine School of Thought.