ROURKELA: Two persons, including a minor, died after a heavy iron gate of a private school at Sector 7 in Rourkela fell on them on Thursday night.
The deceased are identified as Suresh Chaudhary (16) and a security guard Gandhiram Rout (58). The freak accident took place at Bikash Public School.
Sources said the security guard asked the boy to close the heavy iron gate at the main entrance of the school around 10 pm. Since the newly fixed gate with two parts had problems with smooth movement, the boy applied force to close the gate, which uprooted and fell on them.
While Rout was brought dead at Rourkela Government Hospital, the minor succumbed to his head injuries around 3 am.
The minor's father Triveni Chaudhary reached the spot immediately. He took his son to the hospital in an auto-rickshaw as the ambulance did not arrive on time.
"I could not save my son. Why was he asked to do such dangerous work? The school authority is responsible for his death," Chaudhary said.
Rourkela SP Mukesh K Bhamoo said the school was newly constructed and such an incident is shocking. He assured that the police will enquire about the incident and grill the contractor about the safety aspect.
"The school management would be asked about the minor's involvement in the accident. A detailed enquiry would be conducted to find any safety lapse and prevent reoccurrence of similar incidents in future," he added.
Meanwhile, the police have begun investigation into the mishap and seized the bodies for autopsy.