Mother, daughter injured as ceiling collapses at Alappuzha Dental College

Alappuzha: A mother and her daughter were injured after a section of the ceiling collapsed at the Government Dental College in Alappuzha while they were waiting for an X-ray.

The victims have been identified as Haritha (29), wife of Tachayil Vishnu of Valiazheekal in Arattupuzha, and her seven-year-old daughter, Atidhi. They had visited the hospital for the child’s X-ray.

The incident occurred around 11.30 am on Monday when Haritha was standing in a room adjacent to the X-ray unit and her daughter was seated nearby. Suddenly, pieces of the gypsum-board ceiling broke off and fell, hitting the back of Haritha’s head and injuring Atidhi’s right knee.

The ceiling fragments, each nearly two feet long, crashed to the floor before the two could escape. Both suffered dizziness and were promptly shifted to Alappuzha Medical College. Haritha underwent a scan, while Atidhi’s X-ray procedure had to be postponed.

The X-ray section is located on the lower floor of the hospital building, which was completed in 2020. The Dental College began functioning from this facility earlier this year.