BERHAMPUR: A teenage boy fell to death while attending online classes atop a hill in Padmapur block of Rayagada district on Tuesday evening. He was identified as 13-year-old Andriya Jagaranga of Kandha Pandraguda village. The incident took place at around 5 pm.
Andriya, a student of Missionary School in Cuttack, had returned to his village after physical classes were suspended due to the second Covid wave. However, he was regularly attending online classes on a smartphone. Since the cellular network was unreliable in the village, he frequented a nearby hill where the internet connection was at its best.
Sources said on the fateful day, the teenager reached the hilltop to attend an online class but accidentally slipped and fell down. He sustained critical injuries on head, chest and limbs. Some locals found Andriya lying unconscious in a pool of blood and informed police. Soon, a team of fire personnel reached the spot and rushed the boy to Padmapur hospital.
As Andriya’s condition was serious, the doctors referred him to MKCG Medical College and Hospital after giving him first-aid. However, the boy succumbed to injuries before he could be shifted.
While some villagers claimed that Andriya slipped from a boulder atop the hill on which he sat regularly, others said the boy might have had a fall due to the recent rains.
Andriya’s body was taken to the village in the night and cremated early in the morning on Wednesday. Following the incident, a pall of gloom descended on Kandha Pandraguda village.
Describing the incident as unfortunate, Gunupur Sub-Collector J Sonal said Padmapur block officials have been asked to enquire into the incident and submit a report.