Bangalore:
The death of a 25-year-old woman in Bangalore after falling from the third floor in a mock drill on Friday has been received with shock and anger by the online world.
"Sad. Unimaginable. Woman dies during mock safety drill in Bangalore," said Rajat Agrawal on Twitter.
"Callous! Woman falls from 3rd floor in mock drill in Bangalore: Did organizers think they could just 'wing it'?" said another tweet from Jatin Jhala.
The mock drill was organised by the Fire Service Department in the premises of Bombay Rayon Fashion Limited in the Peenya Industrial Area in north Bangalore.
The woman, identified as Nalini, a garment factory worker girl, was trying to come down the three-storey building with the help of a rope when she fell to the ground. She suffered severe head injuries as she fell from the third floor of the factory building and died on way to a hospital, a police spokesperson told reporters. There were no safety nets in place for the drill. The police have now ordered a probe into the matter.
Speaking to NDTV, Inspector General Fire, N Shivakumar, said that they have learnt a lesson after incident and that they will fix a standard operating procedure.
"There is no standard operating procedure in place for such mock drills. Drills like these in the past have taken place without safety net. We admit that we should have had a safety net. A probe has been ordered, a report is expected in a week. Action will be taken based on the report," he said.
"They told the young girl that it was a mock drill and that they were training her. They took her to the third floor where there was no safety net below. That is their biggest mistake. She died because of this lapse. Some safety measures should have been in place. The girl died in front of my eyes, it's a clear case of negligence and they should be held responsible," said an eyewitness.
However, police sources have told NDTV that the rope she was using to climb down could have given way causing the victim's death.
A fire department official said they will recommend to the government for an appropriate compensation for the victim's family.