A 10-year-old girl died following a snake bite in her classroom in Bathery Government Sarvajana Vocational Higher Secondary School in Kerala's Wayanad district on Wednesday.
The girl, identified as Shahla Sherin, was a student of the fifth standard.
She informed the teacher after the two injury marks appeared on her foot. It is believed that the snake surfaced from a hole in the classroom and bit her.
The parents blamed the school authorities for the delay in taking Sherin to the hospital.
The victim was first taken to a private hospital and later to Bathery Taluk hospital. She was then referred to the Kozhikode Medical College but on the way, she started vomiting and died.
The incident triggered protest in Wayanad district blaming school authorities for not filling the holes in the classrooms.
A case has been registered and the police is probing the matter.