TN School fire

All the children who were trapped in the blaze and charred belonged to the primary section and were in the age group 6 to 12 years.

A shocked nation watched with grief pictures of about 85 children charred beyond recognition following a fire in a school in Kumbakonam, some 320 kms from Chennai on a killer Friday on July 16. The mishap, the worst ever after December 1995 incident in Harayana where 178 school children were among then 578 people burnt in a blaze that engulfed a community tent during a festival, has further exposed the poor planning, infrastructure and insensitivity to human lives- particularly that involving children.

The thatched roof of the Lord Krishna School, Kumbakonam caught fire from the open kitchen stove used to cook mid-day meals for school children. All the children who were trapped in the blaze and charred belonged to the primary section and were in the age group 6 to 12 years.

- Prakash Pillai