Children injured at Mirik

Four students of a school in Mirik were injured after a balustrade collapsed and they fell down from the first floor of the institution’s building this morning.

Priya Chettri, Amardeep Gurung, Roman Tamang (all from Class VII) and Bishal Galey (from Class VIII) were taken to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri. However, their injuries were found to be minor and they were released in the afternoon.

The incident took place just before 9 am at Orange Lake English Medium School, 35 km from here. A number of students were rushing down from the first floor for the morning assembly when the balustrade along the corridor collapsed and three boys and one girl fell to the ground.

“Every morning at assembly, we had been telling the students that the balustrade, which is around 3 ft high, was not strong enough and that they should be careful while walking or running along the corridor,” said principal of the school W. Tshering. “We were thinking of repairing it very soon, along with the construction of a new building adjacent to the existing one.”

Tshering added that the school would bear all medical expenses of the injured students, all of whom are day scholars and residents of Mirik.

The ICSE school, situated barely a kilometre from Mirik Bazaar, has around 350 students. Following this morning’s incident, classes were suspended for the day.

A source in the school said the parents of the injured students have not as yet lodged a police complaint.

The parents could not be contacted today as they had accompanied their children to Siliguri.

Source: The Telegraph