Coimbatore: Girl dies after trainer pushes her off college building during disaster preparedness drill; accused arrested

A 19-year-old student died during a disaster preparedness drill at her college in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, on Thursday. The exercise went awry after an ill-prepared trainer pushed the reluctant girl, N Logeswari, off the second floor of the Kovai Kalaimagal College of Arts and Science building. The Coimbatore rural police have arrested the trainer R Amurugam, of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMAI), ANI reported.

Video footage of the incident shows Logeshwari banging her head on the sunshade of the floor below, and sustained injuries which proved fatal,  The Hindu reported. There were a group of students waiting on the ground to catch her in a net. His credentials were being checked by the police, Coimbatore (Rural) superintendent of police Pa Moorthy said. [caption id=“attachment_4731901” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Courtesy: Kovai Kalaimagal College of Arts and Science[/caption] A source close to the college said the drill was conducted by the NDMAI, according to a report by The Indian Express. “When she was reluctant to jump off the second floor, the trainer, who was standing behind her, pushed her even as she was clearly not prepared for the jump,” police said. Logeswari suffered serious injuries on her head and right neck, the police said. Logeshwari was a second-year BBA student. Before her, at least five students had jumped off and landed safely on the net. She was later declared “brought dead” at the Coimbatore Medical College hospital.