Girl, 9, dies after fainting in Rajasthan school, doctors say could be ‘heart attack’

A girl, 9, studying in Class 4 at Adarsh Vidya Mandir School in Danta town, Rajasthan, died on Tuesday after collapsing unexpectedly during her lunch break, leaving her family and school community in shock.

According to school staff, Prachi Kumawat appeared healthy when she arrived at school that morning. She participated in the morning assembly and prayers without any sign of distress. However, during the mid-morning lunch break, she reportedly opened her tiffin box and suddenly lost consciousness.

Teachers immediately rushed Prachi to the nearby Community Health Centre in Danta. Dr Subhash Verma, who was on duty, said she showed no pulse or blood pressure and was gasping for air, symptoms consistent with cardiac arrest.

"We started CPR, administered oxygen, emergency drugs, and IV fluids," Dr Verma told NDTV.

"Despite our best efforts, her condition did not improve. We referred her to a hospital in Sikar in an ambulance."

Dr Jangid, the senior doctor at the health centre, said they attempted to revive her for over 90 minutes. "She showed brief response to resuscitation, which is why we sent her to the district hospital," he said.

Unfortunately, Prachi was declared dead upon arrival at the Sikar hospital.

The school’s principal, Nand Kishore Tiwari, said Prachi had been absent for a few days due to a minor cold but was cheerful and active when she returned on Monday.

Medical experts say sudden cardiac arrest in children is rare but not impossible. Dr Verma noted that undiagnosed congenital heart conditions or electrical disturbances in the heart could be possible causes.

"No autopsy was conducted, so we can't confirm the exact cause of death," Dr Jangid added. "But cardiac arrest appears to be the likely reason."

Prachi’s final moments were captured in a school video earlier that day, where she smiled and introduced herself before walking away. The family chose not to conduct a post-mortem and brought her body home for last rites.