Two children slipped and fell from the fifth floor balcony of their apartment in a congested neighbourhood on Thatha Muthiappan Street in Sowcarpet on Saturday afternoon. The children, who are brothers, are now undergoing treatment at a city hospital. One of the children is reported to be in a critical state.
The accident took place around 1.30 p.m. at Navkar Apartments when the children Darya Shahji (6), a class I student and his brother Baksal Shahji (4), a UKG student, were playing on the balcony. “There is a small open area in between two buildings which is the pathway for water and drainage pipes running to the ground. The boys fell through the gap and crashed through a plastic sheet on the third floor and landed on another sheet on the first floor. We are still investigating how they fell,” said an investigating officer at the scene.
Family members and some residents of the apartment complex rushed the badly injured boys to a private hospital in Tondiarpet. Following preliminary treatment, they were taken to a hospital on Greams Road. Initially pronounced critical by doctors, the older boy Darya was declared out of danger although the younger boy is still in a serious condition.
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Darya and Baksal are studying in a private school in Vepery and their father Ravi Shahji runs a shop selling tarpaulins at Elephant Gate. The apartment complex houses 21 flats with over 80 residents.