Mathura, Oct 7 (IANS): At least four students died, and another was critically injured after they entered a 12-foot-deep water tank at Vrindavan Gurukulam in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura district, with toxic gas suspected to have caused the deaths.
The incident took place at Vrindavan Gurukulam, a residential institution where children stay and study. According to the information available, five students entered the tank and were subsequently pulled out after they failed to come back. All five were taken to the hospital, where four were declared dead, while one student is undergoing treatment.
Police teams are present at the spot, and authorities are investigating the circumstances that led to the incident. Toxic gas is suspected to have caused the deaths, though the exact cause is being investigated.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shlok Kumar said that the incident was reported from the Vrindavan police station area, where the residential educational institution is located.
“A short while ago, information was received that in the Vrindavan police station area, there is an institution named Vrindavan Gurukulam, a residential setup where children stay and study,” Kumar said.
He explained that there was a water tank inside the institution which was emitting a foul smell. Some students went inside the tank to clean it.
“Inside this institution, there is a water tank that was emitting a foul smell. To clean it, some students went inside,” the SSP said.
According to Kumar, one boy initially entered the tank but did not come out. Four more boys then entered the tank after him, but they too failed to emerge.
“First, one boy went inside, but he didn’t come out. Following him, four more boys went inside. When they also failed to come out, the people present there made efforts and somehow pulled them out,” he said.
Police are at the scene, and further investigation is underway to establish what exactly caused the students to lose consciousness inside the tank and led to the deaths. The suspected presence of toxic gas is also being examined by the authorities.
More details are awaited.
