Amusement park tragedy: CCTV footage draws a blank

The police, on Tuesday, collected CCTV footage from one camera from WonderLa Water Amusement Park, where 12-year-old Shabreen Taj (not Sabarina, as the media reported on Monday), a class VI student of Matha English Nursery, Primary and High School in RT Nagar, drowned. However, they were not able to ascertain how the five-feet-tall girl drowned in a three-feet-deep pool. “We’ve checked the CCTV footage, but it’s not clear. It did not cover the death or the spot where she was found,” said Ramanagaram SP Anupam Agarwal. One CCTV’s footage was seized by the police and footage from the remaining CCTVs will be checked soon, he added.

Agarwal said the police will determine if it’s a case of negligence on the part of WonderLa or the school management. WonderLa’s management informed the police that it took necessary safety measures on the premises.

On Wednesday, the police will question the school authorities and students to record their statement.

“We were informed at 4 pm. By the time we reached the hospital, the girl was dead. Preliminary investigation said 144 children from Matha School were on the trip. Shabreen and two other students were in the pool. Other children and teachers were in another pool,” said a police officer.

School principal V Venkatesh said he last saw Shabreen at 3 pm when she was playing in the pool. He learned that she was unconscious at 3.15 pm. Eight lifeguards were near the pool.

His wife Selvi V, who is also the headmistress, was near the pool as the other teachers accompanied the other students to another pool, he added. Soon after the accident, the lifeguards rushed Shabreen to a doctor, who administered first aid. She was later taken to a hospital.