Chennai: Two Class-8 students were killed and three others suffered injuries in a wall collapse at a private school in the southern Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu on Friday.
Police sources said the classes were on in the Schaffer Higher Secondary boys school in Tirunelveli city when the tragedy took place around 1115 hrs.
The deceased students were identified as Sanjay and Viswaranjan and their bodies were shifted to Tirunelveli Government Medical College Hospital for post mortem.
Police and fire service personnel rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to the hospital for treatment.
Reports said that it was an old school building and remained shut for the last one-and-a-half years in view of the COVID pandemic and the subsequent lockdown.
It was re-opened recently after the government allowed the opening of schools following a decline in daily COVID caseload. Though the government has directed all the school management to check the structure of the school building to ensure the safety of the students as the schools were closed due to pandemic, it was not clear whether the stability of the building was checked by the school authorities, though it was given a fresh coat of paint.
Tirunelveli City Police Commissioner N K Senthamarai Kannan visited the spot and inspected the rescue works.
He said a clear picture of the incident would be known after holding inquiries with the school management. Reports received here said agitated students damaged some furniture in the school.
The management has declared a holiday for the day and all the students were advised to return to their homes.
