Toddler dies as iron gate falls on her

Nagpur: Seventeen-month-old Niharika Mahurle was killed when an iron sliding gate fell on her after it slipped out of her uncle’s grip on Wednesday at Chakrapani Nagar. She was declared dead at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on Thursday.
Niharika, who probably choked on her vomit, was rushed to a private hospital before being taken to GMCH after an accident at her place. The toddler, first child of the eldest of three brothers, had rushed out of the house on hearing the sound of her uncle Pankaj’s bike arriving at their place.
An inconsolable Pankaj, an environmental consultant, said he had seen Niharika stepping out, but did not notice that she had come close to the gate. “The gate was loose and needed to be held firmly. I had opened it, and slid it to the side, but then turned to see Niharika’s mother, who too was walking in. At that moment the gate slipped out from my grip and fell down,” he said. “The gate fell on Niharika, after which she fell senseless, and never regained consciousness again,” he said.
The family members mourning outside the mortuary at GMCH said the doctors told them that Niharika had probably swallowed some vomit which landed up in her lungs, choking her.
Hudkeshwar police have registered a case of accidental death.