Four students died and another fell unconscious after entering a water tank to clean it at a residential school in Vrindavan, police said on Wednesday.
The incident took place on Tuesday at Vrindavan Gurukulam after the students noticed a foul smell emanating from the tank.
According to Mathura Senior Superintendent of Police Shlok Kumar, one student first entered the tank to clean it but did not return. Four others subsequently entered the tank and also failed to emerge. People present at the spot then pulled the students out and rushed them to a hospital, where four were declared dead.
The deceased have been identified as Manu Katara, 24, from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh; Rishab Sharma, 18, from Meerut; Aryan Sharma, 18, from Kaushambi; and Devansh, 17, from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh.
The fifth student, Rudra Videsh, 18, is stable and recovering, said Dr Vinit Yadav, medical superintendent of the local hospital.
District Magistrate Chandra Prakash Singh has ordered an inquiry into the incident by the city magistrate. Police are also examining CCTV footage from the school premises to establish the sequence of events.
"Further legal action will be taken after receiving a complaint from the families," Kumar said, adding that the bodies had been sent for postmortem and efforts were underway to contact the families of the deceased.
Around 200 students are studying Sanskrit at the school, with about 100 currently residing on the campus.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the deaths, describing the incident as "extremely sad and heartbreaking" in a post on X and conveying his condolences to the bereaved families.
(With inputs from PTI)
