RANCHI: In a horrifying incident, a government residential school in Jamshedpur was flooded due to heavy rain, forcing 162 students to save their lives by climbing onto the roof of the building. All the students remained on the rooftop through the night and were rescued only after the police were informed the next morning.
The rescue operation lasted for nearly one and a half hours, after which all the children were safely evacuated.
According to police, the rescue operation took more than one and a half hours. All the students were rescued safely with the help of villagers, they said.
Rural SP Rishabh Garg informed that all the children were completely drenched in the rainwater. Kowali police station in-charge Dhananjay Kumar Paswan and Musabani DSP Sandeep Bhagat made important contributions to this rescue operation, he said.
Notably, due to heavy rainfall on Saturday, rainwater gradually began entering the school building. As the water level rose and most parts of the school were submerged, all 162 children were shifted to the roof of the building.
“At around 5:30 in the morning, the Kowali police station in-charge called and informed that the children at Luv Kush Residential School were trapped in the floodwater. We immediately reached there and, with the help of the villagers, the school children were safely evacuated,” said the Rural SP. He added that with the help of ropes and boats, the children were rescued and moved to a nearby government school.
The Rural SP further said that proactive action ensured all the children were rescued before any outside help could arrive, without a single child being injured.
The SP mentioned that a special team was formed under the leadership of the officer in charge of Kowali police station, and the children were rescued using boats and ropes. Despite severe waterlogging and continuous rainfall, the police and rescue team quickly brought the situation under control, he said.
“Giving priority to the safety of the children, the team took them out with utmost caution. During the rescue operation, the children were asked to remain calm, and constant communication was maintained with them so that they did not panic,” said the SP.
Meanwhile, villagers demanded action against the school management for negligence and called for a high-level investigation into how the school is being run without registration.