Powai student on school trip to Panchgani falls to death

A Class 9 girl died and four  injured when the horse cart they were riding on skid off the plateau at Table Land in Panchgani on Wednesday. The students of Gopal Sharma Memorial High School, IIT Powai, had gone on a school trip to Panchgani.

Tanashree Hegde, 14, was riding on a horse cart at Table Land, a large plateau in Panchgani, which is surrounded by deep valleys.  She was on the cart with four of her friends when the cart skid off the plateau and fell into a gorge.

The incident occurred at 5.30pm.  Hegde died on the spot and the other four have been admitted to Ruby Hall Hospital in Pune.

“The horse cart was trying to turn near the edge of the plateau. Unfortunately, the driver miscalculated the distance and the cart skid off the plateau. One girl died. The horse cart driver is also injured,” said A Sargar, assistant sub-inspector of Panchgani police station. The class 9 students have gone on an overnight trip, a part of their social service camp, and had reached Panchgani on Wednesday morning.

“The teachers are still in shock. They are trying to pacify the rest of the students who are equally scared,” said a school official. He added that the student’s parents have been informed. The students will return on Thursday.

Table Land is a popular tourist spot and is also Asia’s second largest mountain plateau.