School roof collapses, lucky escape for 12-yr-old

(Representational Image)

A 12-year-old had a narrow escape on Tuesday when a section of the roof of a government school collapsed and an iron rod pierced through his shoulder, the district administration said. The boy, Lalit Kumar, a Class VIII student, was playing at a primary school at Dudhera village when the incident took place. “A ball landed on the roof of the school. He went to fetch it and while he was on his way down, a section of the roof collapsed,” an official said.

Rajpal Singh, SDM, Jewar, said, “The school was closed when the incident took place, around 3 pm. He was rushed to a private hospital in Greater Noida.” An eyewitness said that an iron rod from the roof pierced his shoulder. Ramveer Singh, a resident of the village, said, “The section of the roof he was standing on may have been weak. The boys told us that the iron rod fell and pierced him.”

The boys who Lalit was playing with started screaming, calling for help. After the incident, villagers reached SDM Rajpal Singh’s office, demanding immediate inspection of the school. A doctor at the hospital said, “The boy is very lucky. The rod missed all the major arteries and he was rushed to the hospital in time, so he didn’t lose a lot of blood and we were able to save him.”