Student dies as school wall collapses

LUCKNOW - A student was killed and five others were injured Tuesday when a wall of a government school collapsed in Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh, officials said.

The incident took place at the Bhailamau Junior High School in Bharkhani block where a major portion of the school’s boundary wall collapsed on the students, who were in primary classes.

“The student who died in the incident has been identified as Sonu Kumar. He was a Class 1 student,” the official in-charge of primary education S.R. Nirmal told reporters in Hardoi, some 110 km from Lucknow.

According to police, six-year-old Kumar died while being taken to hospital. Five other students injured in the incident were being treated at the district hospital, where the condition of a girl was stated to be serious.

“The incident took place while the students were playing near the boundary wall. The exact cause behind the wall collapse is yet to be ascertained,” police inspector S.K. Verma told reporters in Hardoi.

“An enquiry has been initiated in this regard. Necessary action would be taken against the school authorities if construction-related anomalies come to fore during the enquiry,” he said.