Screengrab of the video (Source: Twitter/@AishwaryaPT)
A 19-year-old undergraduate student in a college near Coimbatore, died when she was forced to jump off the second floor of a building during a disaster preparedness drill on Thursday evening. N Logeswari banged her head on building’s sunshade and died after being pushed by an ill-prepared trainer. The trainer has been taken in police custody.
Video footage from the college shows the tragic incident, in which Logeswari, 19, a second year BBA student of Kovai Kalaimagal College of Arts and Science, was seen being nudged and pushed by the trainer who stood behind her on the sunshade. “When she was reluctant to jump off the second floor, she was being pushed by the trainer stood behind her even as she was clearly not prepared for the jump,” police said.
Students who were standing on the ground with a net helped her land safely, but she hit the sunshade of the first floor before that.
Police said the girl had suffered serious injuries on her head and right neck.
A source close to the Kovai Kalaimagal College of Arts and Science in Narasipuram said the drill was conducted by the National Disaster Management Authority of India (NDMAI).
Before Logeswari, at least five students had already jumped off the second floor and landed safely on the net. She was later declared ‘brought dead’ at the Coimbatore government Medical College.
A senior police officer said a case would be filed against the college authorities and the trainer R Arumugam.