JOIN US6 children, 2 teachers hurt as gantry falls on stage
Six students and two teachers of Max Muller Public School at KHB Colony in Basaveshwaranagar were injured after the gantry fell on the stage during the annual day event at Dr B R Ambedkar Stadium on Saturday night.
The children and teachers were rushed to a private hospital. One of the teachers, identified as Pinky, who suffered a shoulder fracture, was shifted to another private hospital.
“Two teachers and six children suffered injuries and are being treated at different hospitals. Except one teacher, all others suffered minor injuries,” Vijayanagar sub-division ACP SK Umesh told Deccan Herald.
According to the police, the school management had organised the annual day event at the stadium around 6 pm. The event was delayed as the chairperson of the management was busy with the Hebbal byelection.
“The teachers had lined up about 35 dance performances by children. A few thousand people, including parents and locals had gathered at the venue,” one of the parents, an eye-witness, told Deccan Herald.
There were around 50 students on the stage performing the dance from the Kannada movie Airavata. Pinky was anchoring the event and was standing on the edge of the stage. A temporary pole for focus lights which was placed at the rear of the stage came crashing down on the stage. It fell on Pinky and a few other students, he said.
The situation turned tense as students started running for safety, while a few parents rushed towards the stage to rescue the children. There was power disruption for a while as the cable got disconnected after the pole fell on it, he said.
A few people alerted the local police, while a few others rushed the children to hospitals. A few parents said that the school management did not ensure enough safety measures on the stage. The management collected about Rs 3,000 from each student and did not even inform the local police, ambulance and fire department as a precaution, parents alleged.
The chairperson and the headmistress did not bother to visit the hospitals and enquire after the health of the teachers and the students, they said.