Four students die after suspected toxic gas exposure in Vrindavan water tank
Four students died and another was hospitalised after entering an underground water tank at a residential Sanskrit gurukul in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, late Tuesday. Police suspect they inhaled toxic gas trapped inside the tank.
The incident occurred in the Chaitanya Vihar II area of Mathura district. Police said one student entered the tank after a foul smell was noticed but did not return.
Four other students then entered the tank in an attempt to rescue him. All five lost consciousness before people at the institution pulled them out and took them to hospital.
Doctors declared four of the students dead, while the fifth, identified as Rudraksh, remained under treatment. Police said he was conscious and able to speak but had been referred for further monitoring.
The deceased were identified in reports as Monu or Manu Katare, Vishu Sharma, Arya or Aryan Pandey, and Devansh Sharma. The students' ages range from 16 to 22.
Mathura Senior Superintendent of Police Shlok Kumar said CCTV footage from the premises was being examined to establish the sequence of events. The bodies were sent to the mortuary, and police were contacting the students' families.
The Times of India reported that the tank was nearly 12 feet deep and that the incident occurred around 10 pm. It said more than 200 students were enrolled at the residential institution, with about 100 staying on the premises.
District Magistrate Chandra Prakash Singh said a detailed inquiry would examine how the deaths occurred and who was operating the institution. He said action would follow against anyone found responsible and assistance would be provided to the families.
Police said further legal action would depend on complaints from the victims' families and the findings of the inquiry. The exact gas involved and the official cause of death had not been established in the reports reviewed for this copy.
