A 20-year-old Marine Engineering student in Pune died after a basketball structure collapsed on him at his college campus in Induri Maval on Sunday. The student's death has come as a shock to the Tolani Maritime Institute.
Visal Verma, The victim, a second-year student, was on the institute's premises. He had just finished his morning routines and was heading back to his room when he stopped by the empty basketball court on the campus.
Talegaon MIDC police said that Vishal had decided to do pull-ups on the basketball structure. The structure gave way without warning and collapsed directly onto his body, causing severe head injuries.
“The basketball structure was broken and collapsed. He came under an iron pole and was seriously injured,” Senior police inspector Santosh Patil said. He was left with a severe scarf fracture.
Campus staff and fellow students rushed Verma to a nearby hospital for treatment.
However, doctors pronounced him dead on arrival as the injuries were fatal .
The have also been allegations that the Ambulance arrived late; officials have not given a confirmation on the matter.
Varma was originally from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. He was enrolled in a B Tech in Marine Engineering from 2024.
He was set to complete the programme in 2028.
Dr Sanjeet Kanugo, principal of the institute, described the incident as very tragic.
Police have registered the case as an accidental death. They said that a detailed investigation is underway to decide if there was any negligence, including defects in the fitting
The incident is reminiscent of a similar case that occurred five months ago, where a 16-year-old national-level player died in Haryana’s Rohtak. Hardik Rati was practising in the court when the pole fell and crushed him.
In another incident, a 15-year-old died in Haryana's Bhadurgah district in a similar incident.
