A mishap at Velliambalam Ayira Vaisya Higher Secondary School in Madurai early on Wednesday morning has left three students injured. The incident reportedly took place at 7.45 am on Wednesday when the balcony on which three students were standing came tumbling down unexpectedly.

The higher secondary students - Veerakumar, Sakthivel and Kumaravel Pandian - were immediately rushed to the government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai by neighbours and teachers present on the spot. While Veerakumar is in standard 12, Sakthivel and Kumaravel Pandian are class 11 students.

The incident took place early in the morning before regular classes could begin and this is said to have averted a worse mishap in the school.

Speaking to TNM, an officer from Vilakuthoon Police Station says, “Officials are looking into how it happened. We will know more details by the end of the day. The three students are currently being treated at the Government Rajaji Hospital.”

Following the incident, the school declared a holiday for the rest of the day.

The school, founded in 1896, is located very close to the Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple on South Chitrai Street. Over 123 years old, this establishment is only for boys and has about 500 students studying between standards 6 and 12.

A committee was formed in May last year based on directions from the Madras High Court, to inspect all schools across the state, both government and private, for building regulations and safety norms.

In addition to infrastructure, the committees also examined the implementation of the RTE Act, the Fee Regulation Act and the health status of the students in the schools. The High Court order came based on a Supreme Court directive from April 13, 2009 issued to all states to ensure safety of school children.

This directive was issued based on a PIL filed in the Supreme Court after the Kumbakonam school fire tragedy.