In a rare incident, a teenager has died after he fell over a mysterious hotspot in an open field in Syadanahalli village in the outskirts of Mysuru. Harshal (14) died of severe burns sustained on his lower body.
Representative image | AFP
According to police, Harshal, who had gone to answer nature's call, along with his friend Manoj last Friday, sustained burns when he tried to pull out Manoj who had tripped over the hotspot. Harshal breathed his last on Sunday at the KR Hospital. Manoj is undergoing treatment.
Harshal's inconsolable parents Murthy and Janaki recalled him as a “good athlete”.
Angry locals blamed the illegal dumping of chemical waste from the nearby industries for the tragedy. However, the district authorities, Mysuru MP Pratap Simha and district incharge minister Dr H.C. Mahadevappa, who visited the spot, chose not to jump to any conclusion before the scientific examination of the spot.
“We have asked the mines and geology experts and the pollution board to collect and test the soil sample from the spot and ascertain if the hotspot was due to any geological phenomenon or caused due to dumping hazardous waste,” said Mahadevappa.
Meanwhile, Somanna, the land owner and a resident of Mysuru city, says he too is puzzled over the incident. The loose soil in the open field, which had caught fire on Sunday continues to emanate smoke. The temperature, when last measured by the authorities, was 120 degrees Celsius.
