KOCHI: Friends, teachers, people’s representatives, and residents were in tears as they were trying hard to cope with reality. Pall of gloom engulfed not only the school compound but also every nook and cranny of Mulanthuruthy
Some were fighting back tears, some were screaming, many were left in utter shock, and a large number of people were looking down in desperation. The mood at Baselios Vidyanikethan School in Mulanthuruthy turned into an ocean of mourning when the bodies of five students and a teacher who died in the accident at Vadakkanchery in Palakkad were brought there for people to pay last respects on Thursday.
Friends, teachers, police officials, people’s representatives, local residents and relatives of the deceased who were waiting at the school to have a last glimpse of their beloved ones were in tears as they were trying hard to cope with the reality. The victims’ bodies were brought to the school at 3pm on Thursday.
“This is not the first time the school has taken their kids on an excursion.
It was after a gap of two years that they got an opportunity to go on such an excursion. The students were all excited about the trip, but we never expected the trip would end up in a tragedy. We lost our kids and we don’t know how we can run the school in their absence,” said Sarala, a helper at the school, with tears rolling down her cheeks.
The gloomy atmosphere not only engulfed the school compound but also every nook and cranny of Mulanthuruthy, a Kochi suburb. Shops and establishments remained closed and it was a hartal-like situation as people mourned the death of the students and their teacher. Hundreds of people visited the school to pay their homage, and many of them left the place devastated as they could not have a glimpse of the deceased owing to the heavy rush of people. Ministers Antony Raju and P A Mohammed Riyas, Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan, Thomas Chazhikadan, MP, MLAs K Babu, Anoop Jacob, and P V Srinijin, Ex-MLAs M Swaraj, M J Jacob and V P Sajindran, and DCC president Mohammed Shiyas were among those who paid homage to the deceased students and teacher.
“The loss is not just for the parents and school alone. We cannot sit and spend the day as usual. It is a sad day in our lives. We lost our children. This is indeed a loss to the village. The news not just made us sad but left us devastated,” said Paul, a resident of Mulanthuruthy, who came to the school after hearing the news in the morning.
An elderly person who runs a small tea shop in front of the school said the kids were always happy whenever they visited the shop. “They all used to visit the shop with smiling faces. They were in a celebratory mood on Wednesday. It is hard to believe that many of them will never visit my shop again,” he said.
The students and staff who reached the school in the morning itself after hearing the news were clueless about how they would be able to spend the rest of their days without their friends and teachers.
“All will have a bunch of good memories while leaving their school life. But we will never have such a memory in the future. The friends and the teacher that we have lost in the accident will be in our thoughts throughout our life when we think about our school life,” said Abhishek, a Plus II student of the school who suffered injuries to his left leg.
‘WE WERE SEARCHING FOR OUR STUDENTS IN HOSPS’
Palakkad: “It was just after midnight that we received a message that the bus carrying students from the school met with an accident. Immediately, Fr Abraham of the school, myself and another teacher left for Vadakkenchery. On the way, we searched various hospitals at Alathur to know where the injured students were admitted. By Thursday morning, we reached the District Hospital in Palakkad,”
said Biby Shibu, a Plus-Two teacher of Baselios Vidyanikethan Senior Secondary School near Mulanthuruthy.
‘Schools should comply with guidelines’
T’Puram: Schools in the state should strictly comply with the directive to avoid travel during the night while going on excursions, General Education Minister V Sivankutty has said. The minister said directions have already been issued to educational institutions to utilise the services only of buses of tour operators recognised by the Tourism Department. The department has issued comprehensive guidelines on conducting excursions on March 2, 2020 and clarified that the head of the institution concerned will be responsible for the safe conduct of the trip.
Deceased
Plus-two students: Anjana Ajith, 17, of Valiyakulam, Udayamperoor and
C S Immanuel, 17, Kanjirikkappilly of Arakunnam
Class 10 students: Chris Winterborn Thomas, 15, of Mulanthuruthy; Diya Rajesh, 15, of Paigirappilly, Mulanthuruthy and Elna Jose, 15, of Vandipetta, Thiruvaniyur.
Physical education teacher Vishnu V K, 33, of Inchimala, Mulanthuruthy
KSRTC passengers Rohith Raj, 24, of Nadathara in Thrissur, O Anoop, 22, of Veliyam in Kollam, and Deepu Bhanu, 25, of Kollam.
Postmortem held at Palakkad district hospital and Alathur taluk hospital