A 17-year-old student, who was critically injured after a hammer hit his head during the hammer throw competition at the Kerala State Junior Athletics Championship held at Pala, died on Monday at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kottayam.
Responding to the news, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan expressed his condolences to the family.
"Apheel Johnson's death was painful. Will do whatever possible to ensure that such tragic incidents are not repeated. Joining in the family's grief," he said.
Apheel Johnson, a Plus One student at St Thomas Higher Secondary School, Pala, was serving as a volunteer at the meet on October 4, and was hit by a hammer thrown by one of the contestants. He was rushed to the hospital and underwent surgery immediately.
Apheel was reportedly walking between the venues for hammer throw and javelin throw, collecting the fallen javelins, when a 3 kg hammer thrown from the opposite direction accidentally fell on him. Both the events – javelin throw and hammer throw – were held simultaneously and had the same finishing point.
Apheel suffered a severe brain injury according to sources from the hospital. He was in the critical care unit for the last two weeks. Apheel is a resident of Erattupetta, Kottayam.
The police have registered a case under section 338 (Causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC against the organisers of the event. Pala police had said that an investigation is on to find out how the lapse occurred. The police had told the media that a case has been filed against 10 persons and that more details will be revealed after the investigation.
The school athletic championship was postponed following the unfortunate incident. There were allegations that the athletic events were conducted without taking adequate safety measures and that there is a lack of facilities and resources. The Kerala State Junior Athletics Championship is an annual sports meet held at different districts each year.