Boy dies, 2 in hospital after water tank stairs collapse; IAF rescues 2
Defunct water tank staircase collapse in Siddharthnagar kills 10‑year‑old; two critically injured, while IAF helicopter rescues two stranded children safely
Siddharthnagar (UP), May 3 (PTI) A 10-year-old boy died after the staircase of a defunct water tank collapsed, causing three of the five children on it to fall, officials said on Sunday.
The incident occurred on Saturday when the children had climbed the structure. Two others who fell remain in critical condition.
Two children stranded atop the tank were rescued early Sunday by an Indian Air Force helicopter, officials said.
Siddharthnagar District Magistrate Shivasharanappa GN said that following consultations with the Chief Minister's Office and Relief Commissioner Dr Hrishikesh Bhaskar Yashod, the helicopter was requisitioned from Gorakhpur.
The stranded children were rescued at around 5.20 am, in an operation lasting about 15 minutes and were later taken to Gorakhpur for treatment.
Efforts were made overnight to construct an alternate route to reach the stranded children, but rain disrupted these operations, prompting authorities to seek aerial assistance, he said, expressing gratitude to the chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
According to the local corporator Satish Rastogi, the defunct water tank, located near the Kashiram Housing locality, was built around 30 years ago and had been declared unsafe.
Despite restrictions, children often climbed it to make social media reels.
On Saturday, five children climbed the tank. While descending, the staircase suddenly collapsed, causing three of them, Golu (12), Sunny (14), and Siddharth (10) to fall.
They were rushed to a medical college, where Siddharth was declared dead on arrival, while the other two were referred to Gorakhpur in critical condition.
The remaining two children, Pavan (14) and Shaban (12), who were stranded atop the tank, were safely rescued, according to the district magistrate.
The rescue operation was carried out on the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who took immediate cognisance of the incident and directed officials to ensure that the stranded children were brought down safely without any negligence, according to a statement.
Acting on these directions, teams from the district administration, police and disaster management reached the spot promptly, and the district magistrate sought aerial assistance through the relief commissioner, given the urgency of the situation.
The operation encountered several challenges, as waterlogging around the tank made the ground swampy, preventing the use of heavy machinery such as cranes and excavators. Additionally, the damaged staircase posed significant access risks.
Due to these constraints, an IAF helicopter was requisitioned from Gorakhpur, successfully airlifting the two trapped children on Sunday morning and bringing them down safely. PTI