Three students die as Arunachal school's overhead water tank collapses, falls on them

Itanagar: Three students of a private school were killed and three others injured when an overhead water tank collapsed and fell on them in Arunachal Pradesh’s Naharlagun on Saturday, police said.

The students were playing at the St Alphonsa School in Model Village when the tank collapsed injuring six students, Naharlagun Superintendent of Police Mihin Gambo said.

“All the injured were rushed to the Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (TRIHMS), Naharlagun, where three were declared dead. A post-mortem is currently underway,” the SP said.

The deceased are class 9 students while the injured belong to class 6 and 7, police said.

The police have detained the school principal, owner, and four other staff members for questioning.

“Preliminary investigations suggest that the water tank may have exceeded its capacity. However, we are probing the matter further to determine the exact cause,” the SP added.