Lucknow: Two teenagers trapped above an overhead water tank in Siddharthnagar district were rescued Indian Air Force A fatal accident occurred about 15 hours after helicopter stairs collapsed on Sunday morning.The sequence of events began on Saturday afternoon in Belasad Tappa Tharauli village of Navgarh tehsil near Kanshiram Awas Colony, where five children allegedly climbed onto a disused and dilapidated water tank to record a video.Suddenly, the stairs of the structure collapsed, causing three of them to fall. Siddharth, 13, died on the spot, while two others, 14-year-old Golu and 11-year-old Sunny, were injured and admitted to Madhav Prasad Tripathi Medical College.Two other teenagers, 17-year-old Pawan and 17-year-old Kallu, were left stranded on top of the tank after the ladder collapsed. The structure, built for domestic water supply, was reportedly unused for many years due to its poor condition.After the incident, Chief Minister… Yogi Adityanath Took cognizance and directed officials to ensure safe and prompt rescue. The district administration, police and disaster response teams reached the spot and tried to bring down the trapped teenagers.However, the height of the tank, broken stairs and waterlogging of the surrounding area – which made the ground boggy and unsuitable for heavy machinery – hampered rescue efforts. A hydraulic ladder vehicle was also brought from Gorakhpur, but efforts continued throughout the night but without success.As ground efforts failed, District Magistrate Shivasharanappa GN sought assistance from the Indian Air Force through the State Relief Commissioner’s office.The DM said, “After road access failed due to marshy ground and bad weather conditions, we activated an alternative plan and coordinated through the Chief Minister’s Office and secured the Indian Air Force helicopter from Gorakhpur. The rescue operation was successfully conducted around 5.30 am and both the boys were airlifted safely.”“During the 16-hour operation, we used drones to provide water and snacks to the stranded children. I thank the CM for his timely coordination, who made the helicopter available. The children are healthy and had gone for routine medical checkup before returning home.”He said that due to difficult terrain and poor road access, rescue operations for stranded children require coordination between the fire department and the Indian Air Force.Following the request an IAF Mi-17 V5 helicopter was deployed from Central Air Command, Prayagraj. The helicopter reached the spot on Sunday morning and conducted an air rescue operation at around 5.15 am and brought down the two trapped teenagers safely.“On the request of State Government officials, an IAF Mi 17 V5 of Central Air Command (CAC) was deployed to rescue two stranded children above a water tank in Siddharth Nagar, Uttar Pradesh. The children were stranded at night as the ladder of the water tank was damaged,” CAC posted on Twitter.The police have sent the body of the deceased child for post-mortem.