Mock drill turns disastrous as girl pushed to death from college building

Coimbatore, Jul 13: A 19-year-old student of a private college in Tamil Nadu banged her head on a sunshade and died after being pushed from the second floor ledge by an ill-prepared trainer during a disaster preparedness drill conducted on the campus. The trainer has been detained.

The victim is N Logeshwari, a second-year BBA student and a native of Nathegoundenpudur, near Alandurai. She was one of the 20 students being trained to jump from buildings during emergencies. The incident took place on Thursday evening in a private college near Narasipuram in Coimbatore district.

A video recording of the tragic incident showed the victim, who was reluctant to jump off from the sunshade, being nudged and pushed by the trainer as part of an emergency response drill.

While a group of students was waiting on the ground to catch her with a net, the girl banged her head on the sunshade and sustained injuries which proved fatal.

Authorities of the Kovai Kalaimagal College of Arts and Science in Narasipuram told the police that the drill was conducted by the National Disaster Management Authority of India (NDMAI).

Higher Education Minister K P Anbalagan said an inquiry would be conducted into the incident and action would be taken against those found guilty.

However, Rajendra Ratnoo, Commissioner (Disaster Management), Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Agency, which functions under the NDMAI, said that he was not aware of the training that was conducted at the college. “All training sessions of the NDMAI are conducted only through the District Collector,” he said.

Coimbatore (Rural) Superintendent of Police Pa Moorthy said that the police are interrogating R. Arumugam, who claimed to be a trainer with the NDMAI, to check his credentials.

The police, based on preliminary inquiries at the college, said at least five students had already completed the task of jumping off the second floor and were safely held with a net. Logeswari, a resident of Ration Shop Street in Nathegoundenpudur near Alandurai, was sixth in line to undertake the task which turned fatal.

Immediately after she sustained injuries on her head, she was taken to a private hospital in Thondamuthur where she was administered first aid. Doctors there referred her to the State-run Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, where she was declared “brought dead”.