A nine-year-old girl studying in Class III died after collapsing inside her classroom at a private school in East Delhi’s Mayur Vihar Phase II on Wednesday morning, with her family questioning why she was not administered Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) or
given immediate medical attention.
The incident, which was captured on the school’s CCTV cameras, has brought the institution’s emergency response arrangements under scrutiny. While the school management maintained that the child was immediately taken to a hospital, her relatives alleged that the staff failed to provide adequate first aid and take necessary steps to revive her after she collapsed.
The incident took place at Lovely Heritage School when the girl returned to her classroom after the games period. CCTV footage shows her entering the classroom and standing for a few moments before suddenly falling to the floor. Just before collapsing, she is seen placing a hand on her waist.
The class teacher immediately rushed towards the girl and picked her up, apparently attempting to make her sit on a chair. However, she appeared unconscious. The teacher then stepped out of the classroom and returned within seconds, carrying the child out for medical assistance.
Nine-year-old Delhi girl collapses in class, dies
Other CCTV recordings from the school premises show the girl walking up a staircase alongside other students shortly before the incident. Another clip shows her among a group of children inside the school premises.
Following the incident, school authorities rushed the girl to a nearby hospital. She was subsequently taken to Malik Radix Health Care in Nirman Vihar, where doctors declared her dead.
Delhi Police received a PCR call regarding the incident at around 9.52 am on Wednesday. The police examined the classroom CCTV footage during the preliminary inquiry and are investigating the circumstances that led to the child’s sudden collapse. The body was taken into police possession and sent for a post-mortem examination. Police said the exact circumstances leading to the death were yet to be established. Statements of the girl’s parents and the school authorities are also to be recorded as part of the investigation.
School principal Bhawna Malik said the girl had suffered a cardiac arrest and that the school staff had immediately arranged for medical assistance. Expressing grief over the incident, Malik said the school took adequate care of its students and that a nurse was also present on the premises. She added that the staff noticed a bleeding injury on the child’s chin after she collapsed and rushed her to the hospital.
However, the principal’s explanation has not addressed the family’s concerns over the absence of CPR immediately after the girl lost consciousness. When questioned about why the child was not administered CPR, Malik said the staff initially suspected that her condition could be related to the injury to her chin and did not immediately identify another possible medical reason for her collapse.
The girl’s relatives, meanwhile, questioned the school’s preparedness to handle medical emergencies, particularly given the fees charged by the institution. They alleged that the school did not have adequate arrangements to respond to a life-threatening situation and demanded accountability over the delay, if any, in providing emergency medical assistance.
The incident has also raised questions about whether teachers and other school employees are adequately trained to recognise medical emergencies and administer basic life-saving assistance before professional medical help arrives.
CCTV footage establishes that the teacher approached the girl immediately after she fell. Still, the sequence of events following her collapse, including the medical assistance provided inside the school and the time taken to transport her to hospital, remains crucial to establishing whether the emergency response was adequate.
The school has maintained that its staff acted promptly and that a nurse was available. However, the police investigation and post-mortem findings are expected to provide greater clarity on the circumstances surrounding the child’s death. The exact cause of death remains unconfirmed pending the medical examination. Police are examining the available CCTV footage and other evidence to establish the sequence of events.