One student killed, 28 injured in wall collapse

At least one girl student was killed and 28 others were injured when a wall of a house collapsed near their school at Sakhigopal here today.

The girl students of Saraswati Sishu Mandir School were on their way home when the rain-soaked wall, part of a house, collapsed on them, police said.

An eighth standard student died on the spot, while the 28 others were injured, two of them seriously, Mrutunjay Swain, inspector-in-charge of Sakhigopal police station said.

Thirteen injured students were discharged after preliminary treatment at Sakshigopal hospital and the rest 15 were rushed to Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar, which referred the two seriously injured to SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack.
 

School and Mass Education Minister Devi Prasad Mishra later visited the Capital Hospital and announced that the state government would bear medical expenses of the injured students.

"It is an unfortunate incident. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has expressed concern over the incident," Mishra told reporters.

Meanwhile, Puri district collector Aravind Agarwal has ordered an inquiry by the district education officer into the incident.