Four-year-old boy's death at Konni elephant camp; initial report suggests lapse at official level

PATHANAMTHITTA: Initial reports suggest that there was a lapse at the official level in the death of a four-year-old boy in the accident at Konni elephant cage. The Ranni DFO in charge of Konni will submit a report to the Chief Forest Conservator of the Southern Region today. No inspection was conducted regarding the weakness of the pillar. The report also states that there was a lapse in conducting safety inspections. The final report will be handed over to the Forest Minister on Monday.

The postmortem report of the child has been released. There was internal bleeding in the head. The postmortem report says that the cause of death was injuries to the forehead and back of the head.

The boy who died in the accident is Abhiram, the son of Aji and Shari of Adoor Kadampanad. The incident took place in the afternoon. When Abhiram was playing around the pillar, the pillar shifted and fell on his head. The pillar is about four feet high. The child was immediately admitted to the Konni Taluk Hospital and later to the Pathanamthitta General Hospital, but he could not be saved.

Abhiram reached the elephant sanctuary in the morning after visiting the Kalleri Appuppankavu temple with his mother and relatives. He was playing around the pillar to take a photo when the pillar fell on the boy. The accident was caused by one of the poles installed as part of the beautification of the elephant sanctuary.