At least 50 students were injured when a high-tension wire fell into a primary school in Naya Nagar Vishnupur area in Balrampur district of Uttar Pradesh on Monday, PTI reported. Administration officials said the students were out of danger.
The students were at a distance from the wire when it collapsed, District Magistrate Krishna Karunesh said. However, water had collected in the compound due to rainfall, due to which they came into contact with electricity, he added.
The students were hospitalised, Karunesh said. “Twenty-nine children are undergoing treatment at Utraula Community Health Center while 22 are being treated at private hospital,” he added, according to the Hindustan Times.
The magistrate said a contractual linesman has been sacked and another responsible for upkeep of the power lines suspended. Departmental inquiry has been ordered against area junior engineer Priya Darshi Tiwari.
“For a few seconds, we could not understand what was happening almost all children suffered shock after their bare feet came in direct contact with ground,” Richa Singh, a teacher at the school, said. “Somebody from among the teachers screamed that electricity from a high-tension wire has spread.”
She said that when the school called up the power house to disconnect the line, nobody answered. “Someone did pick up the phone 15 minutes later but the line got disconnected,” she added.
Parents went to the school to help their children. With the help of district administration officials, the children were taken to hospital, the Hindustan Times reported.
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