A 17-year-old girl died after 13 female students fell into a septic tank while cleaning it at a school in Rajasthan’s Deeg district on Friday, police said.
The 12 injured students were transferred to a nearby hospital and are undergoing treatment. The incident took place at Mill Madrasa School in Gopalgarh district, where the students were assigned cleaning work.
Police have identified the deceased as Rohin, a resident of Sukras village in Haryana. The police seized the body and referred it to forensic medicine.
A school administration employee, who requested anonymity, said that a board covering the septic tank in the building collapsed a few days ago.
He added, “The tank was then cleaned using machines, but some debris remained in one section. On Friday evening, a few female students reportedly volunteered to remove the remaining debris and entered the tank. They are believed to have lost consciousness after being exposed to toxic gases inside the tank.”
He added that in an attempt to save the first female students, other female students entered the tank one after another without any protective or safety equipment.
After hearing the students’ cries for help, school employees rushed to the scene and rescued them. The injured students were immediately taken to the hospital.
District Collector Mayank Manish and Superintendent of Police Sharan Gopinath reached the spot soon after receiving information about the incident and inspected the spot.
Gopinath said that assigning female students to carry out such dangerous work amounts to serious negligence. He stressed that strict legal measures will be taken against those found responsible for the accident.
