Hyderabad: Engineering student dies after lighting stand collapses on her during college dandiya event
New Delhi: An engineering student at a college in Hyderabad died after a lightning stand collapsed on her on Saturday evening. The woman along with several others was attending a Dandiya event in her college. A report in NDTV said that 14 other people were injured in the accident.
The deceased was identified as Sona Narayan Das, a first year student at the college. She was enrolled in the Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE) course at the MVSR Engineering College. She suffered severe injuries after the structure on which lights had been arranged collapsed on her during the event.
The student was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, but she died during treatment.
The police said that the 14 others injured in the incident were now out of danger. Among the injured was Sona’s sister, Meena Narayan Das. She was initially said to be in a critical condition and was shifted to Pratyusha Hospital near Nadargul for treatment.
Structure collapsed due to strong winds: Police
The Hyderabad Police said that the structure collapsed due to strong winds. It fell on the students gathered for the Navratri event, leaving them badly injured.
The event was organised as part of a college’s cultural-cum-technical fest – ‘Sangamam’. The Director of MVSR College Prasanna Kumar, said that the ‘Dandiya Night’ had been organised on the final day of the fest at the request of the students.
Talking about the accident, the Director said that a strong gale of wind swept the area, just 10 minutes before the programme was supposed to end. This led the light stand to collapse in an area where several female students were dancing, he added.
The Director termed the death of Sona Narayan Das from the EEE department as “unfortunate.” He said that around 9 students were admitted to hospital. He further said that the college used its own vehicles to take students to the hospital, as the Ambulance called by dialling 108 was taking time to reach the college.
The Director said, ” We immediately shifted them to Pratyusha Hospital, where they received immediate attention. Based on the doctors’ advice, one or two students were taken for CT scans, and those who underwent scans have been declared out of danger.”
He said that the college would do its best to support the family and the injured students.
Family alleges negligence
Meanwhile the victim’s family alleged negligence on the part of the college. The woman’s uncle was quoted by news agencies as saying that he received a call between 7-8 pm, informing him that a lightning and decoration pole had fallen directly on the student’s head.
The uncle of the woman alleged that no proper safety precautions were in place for the event. He also said that when he reached the hospital, the doctors told him that Sona was already dead by the time she was brought in to the facility.
CM expresses grief, orders action
Telangana Chief Minister, Revanth Reddy expressed sadness over the student’s passing. He expressed condolences to her family and also took stock of those injured in the accident.
According to a government release, the CM directed officials to provide proper medical care to those injured in the incident. He also instructed them to identify those responsible for the accident and take strict action against them.
An investigation has also been ordered to understand the circumstances surrounding the accident.