Alappuzha: Boy dies as wall of urine shed at school collapses

Alappuzha: A class II student lost his life after the wall of the urine shed at his school collapsed on Friday at Thalavady in Kuttanad. Sebastian, 6, the son of Benson and Ansamma of Munduchirayil, was killed in the incident that occurred at Chootumali LPGS, Anapramal South near Thalavady.

The couple are both daily labourers and Sebastian was their firstborn. Their younger child is five years old. According to local people, the incident took place at 11.20 am during the interval. Sebastian went to the bathroom and entered it holding onto the sidewall of the urine shed. All of a sudden, the wall caved in trapping the child in the rubble. Though teachers and local people immediately took him to the nearby hospital, the little boy could not be saved. No other child sustained injuries. Only 11 students are currently studying at the school.

K.B. Anandababu, Sub-Inspector of Police, Edathua, said that the incident took place due to the criminal negligence of the management. “They constructed a structure with hollow bricks as a bathroom without keeping in mind security standards. At least three bricks fell on the child causing severe head injuries resulting in his death. Legal steps will be initiated against the management. The body is being kept at the morgue of private hospital at Parumala,” the SI said.     

Following the incident, the district administration sanctioned '10,000 as immediate relief. District Collector T.V. Anupama said that a meeting of education officials and local body chiefs had been called to identify weak structures and buildings in the school compounds in the district. “A decision has been taken to verify the fitness papers of the school buildings at earliest,” the Collector said.

Meanwhile, the tragedy hit the district a few days after the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights issued an order to all district administrations to take stock of fitness conditions of all school buildings and toilets.