55 kids hurt as high-tension wire snaps

Lucknow, July 15

Fifty-five schoolchildren suffered burn injuries when a high-tension wire fell on a government primary school  in Utraula tehsil of Balrampur today. The injured were rushed to a private  hospital and some to the district hospital.

There were at least100 children in the school when an 11,000 KV high-tension wire snapped and fell on the schoolbuilding, sending an electric current through the building. The power was immediately cut off.

As news of the accident spread in the area, parents rushed to the school and then to the hospitals. They charged the administration with criminal negligence.

Balrampur District Magistrate Krishna Karunesh terminated the services of a contractual lineman, suspended a skilled coolie and proposed a departmental inquiry against the junior engineer concerned.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asked the Project Director, Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam, to ascertain the cause for the accident and submit a report within 24 hours. — TNS