Two schoolchildren die, 20 hurt as transformer bursts

Two schoolchildren were killed and 20 seriously injured when a power transformer located beside their school burst in Sarwarkhera village near Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar district on Monday afternoon.

Two schoolchildren were killed and 20 seriously injured when a power transformer located beside their school burst in Sarwarkhera village near Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar district on Monday afternoon. A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident.

According to district officials, a 220-kv transformer located near the Government Primary School in Sarwarkhera burst into flames as the children were playing in the adjoining park during lunch break. As many as 20 children aged below 10 were badly burnt when the boiling oil from the transformer fell on them. Villagers took the children to the Government Hospital at Kashipur, from where 16 of the children were referred to Sushila Tiwari Hospital at Haldwani. Two of them later succumbed to the burns.

Hospital authorities said most of the children had 70 to 80 per cent burn injuries. Udham Singh Nagar District Magistrate G K Dewvedi also visited the children and announced a magisterial probe into the accident. He said action would be taken against power corporation officials responsible for the blast.

Officials claim the blast took place after it was repaired on Monday. Uttaranchal Power Corporation chairman B M Verma has rushed to the spot.

As many as 14 of the seriously injured girls were later flown by helicopter to New Delhi, where they were admitted to the Ram Manohar Lohia and Safdarjung hospitals. 8220;Two children have suffered 95 per cent burns. All of them are in a critical condition,8221; said Dr Vikas Giri of Halwani Medical College who accompanied the children to New Delhi.

8220;The girls were having lunch when the transformer burst and scalding oil fell on them on them,8221; said Rajeev Gupta, Uttaranchal government8217;s resident commissioner in New Delhi.

Medical Superintendent Dr N K Chaturvedi said plastic surgeons were being consulted.

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Furious parents at the hospital demanded action against the power department for the incident. 8220;What if something happens to my daughters. The power authorities should not be spared,8221; said Jimma Ali, who daughters Nargis and Nisha have been brought to Delhi.

Meanwhile, the state government has ordered interim relief of Rs 1 lakh to each of those killed and Rs 50,000 to those seriously wounded. With inputs from New Delhi