Student killed, four children injured as boulder hits school in J&K’s Poonch

Four schoolchildren hospitalised after landslide in Bhainch panchayat area amid heavy rain on Monday morning.

A five-year-old student was killed and four children were injured when a landslide triggered by heavy rain led to a boulder piercing through a wall of the Government School in Bhainch panchayat area in Poonch district on Monday morning, police said.

The damaged wall of the Government School in Bhainch panchayat in Poonch district after a boulder came rolling down a hillside amid heavy rain in the area on Monday morning. (HT Photo)

Ehsan Ali, the son of Mohammad Razaq of Kalsian in Bhainch panchayat area, died on the spot. “A student was killed and four others were injured when a boulder came hurtling down a hill and pierced through the wall of the primary school building in Kalsian,” said a senior police officer.

The injured students were rushed to the district hospital in Poonch. They were identified as Mohammad Safeer, 7, the son of Mohammad Shareef of Kalsian Bhainch, Bilal Farooq, 8, the son of Farooq Ahmed of Bhainch, Aftab Ahmed, 6, the son of Idress Ahmed of Bhainch, and Tabia Kouser, 7, the daughter of Basharat Hussain of Bhainch.

The region is being lashed by heavy rain since Sunday evening.

Lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha mourned the death of the schoolboy due to the rockslide. “The news of the death of a five-year-old child due to the rockslide is heartrending. May God give strength to the bereaved parents to bear this shock. I pray for the speedy recovery of other children injured in this incident”, he said.

Poonch DC meets injured children

The district commissioner Vikas Kundal on Monday visited Poonch hospital and enquired about the well being of students.

“DC visited the Maharaja Sukhdev Singh district hospital, where the children were being treated. He met with the victims and their families and directed the medical team to provide the best possible treatment to ensure speedy recovery of the children,” said an official.

DC also disbursed financial assistance under the Red Cross Fund, with ₹1,00,000 provided to the family of the deceased child and ₹50,000 each to the families of the injured children.