Two students were killed and three others were injured when the hostel wall of a government residential upper primary school collapsed at Namtsering under Dudungkhar circle in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh in the wee hours on July 11.
“Two girl students lost their lives while two were seriously injured and one suffered minor injury when the hostel wall collapsed on the sleeping children early this morning around 3.15 am to 3.20 am at government residential upper primary school, Namtsering village under Dudungkhar circle of Lungla subdivision,” DIPRO Tawang said in a statement.
The wall of the hostel building could not resist the landslide that occurred due to incessant rain for last many days, it said, adding, there were total 19 girl students sleeping in the hostel when the incident occurred.
Other students were evacuated safely following an immediate rescue operation by the warden and other teaching staff along with villagers nearby, the statement said.
Police and administration immediately rushed to the spot, while the officials from education department and district administration Tawang also visited and meet the family members of children and teachers of the school, it said.
The two students who lost their lives were identified as Genden Wangmu (10), studying in Class Six and Rinchin Lhamu (10) in Class Five. The mortal remains of the two children were sent for post mortem, while the injured after first aid at CHC Dudungkhar were referred for further treatment at district hospital Tawang, it added.
Various parts of the state including the state capital, Itanagar, are witnessing heavy downpour since last few days, resulting in damage of roads, bridges, culverts and houses and loss of livestock also reported. A person has been reported missing since Monday after a cloudburst-triggered flood at Kaspi under West Kameng district of the state and is yet to be traced.
In the wake of incessant rains in Itanagar, the district administration yesterday ordered the closure of all government and private schools located in the capital complex till July 13 as a precautionary measure.
Chief minister Pema Khandu has directed the concerned authorities to be vigilant and prepared to effectively tackle the disasters caused by incessant rainfall in the state.
