16 students injured in blast at private school in Valley
At least 16 school students were injured in an explosion at a private school in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Wednesday. The cause of the blast has not yet been ascertained.
Though schools in Kashmir are closed owing to winter vacations, the students were taking tuitions at the private school, Falai-e-Millat, when the incident took place.
Pulwama senior superintendent of police Chandan Kohli said that 16 students were injured in the blast. The health officials, however, put the number of injured received at the three health institutions of the district at 27, though they suspect some of the injured may have hopped from one hospital to another after referrals. Many of the injured were referred to tertiary care hospitals in Srinagar.
An injured student at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital in Srinagar said that they were studying in the class when suddenly there was a blast. “All of us fell down due to the impact of the explosion and received injuries on our legs. The benches on which we were sitting lessened the impact, otherwise there could have been more damage,” he said.
An official at Police control room, Pulwama said that when police officers reached the spot, enraged locals threw stones on them.
Pulwama deputy commissioner GM Dar said police have now sealed the school to investigate the matter.
Terming the incident as unfortunate, governor Satya Pal Malik prayed for the speedy recovery of the children and announced an ex gratia amount of ₹50,000 for all the injured.