Screengrab of the video (Source: Twitter/@AishwaryaPT)
A 19-year-old undergraduate student died during a disaster preparedness drill in her college near Coimbatore Thursday evening after she was allegedly forced to jump off a building and hit a sunshade while going down.
Video footage shows a trainer nudging N Logeswari, a second year BBA student of Kovai Kalaimagal College of Arts and Science, to jump from the second floor of the building while she looked uncertain. “When she was reluctant to jump off the second floor, trainer, who was standing behind her, pushed her even as she was clearly not prepared for the jump,” police said. The trainer, R Arumugam, has been taken into custody.
Disaster preparedness drill turns lethal in Coimbatore. 19-years-old girl dies during the drill. #ITVideo #Breaking
Watch more videos at https://t.co/Nounxo6IKQ pic.twitter.com/2SnYnuXUiC— India Today (@IndiaToday) July 12, 2018
Though students were standing on the ground with a safety net to help her land, she had banged her head against the sunshade on the first floor before that.
Police said the girl 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 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.