10-year-old girl dies of snakebite in class,teacher suspended

A 10-year-old girl died after being bitten by a snake inside her classroom, as the state government suspended a teacher for alleged lapse in rushing her to hospital, officials said on Thursday.

The fifth standard student Shehala Sherin was taken to hospital over an hour after the incident at around 3 pm on Wednesday, students of the government vocational higher secondary school at Sulthan Bathery in Wayanad district alleged.

Her parents rushed her to four hospitals where no anti-venom was administered and they were told to take the child to the Kozhikode Medical college hospital, which is about 90 km from Sulthan Bathery, officials said.

Shehala's father said she died before reaching the medical college.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the incident was unfortunate and assured strong action against those responsible for the lapse in saving the child's life.

"The teachers are supposed to educate the children on how to react in such situations. But in this case, the teachers, despite repeated requests from students failed to take the child to hospital," the chief minister said