Kerala Thenjipalam (Malappuram): Timely intervention by teachers averted a tragedy on Wednesday after a student swallowed a colour pencil during class hours.

While being rushed to the hospital, Pranav, 6, a Class 1 student of SVA UP School at Pulliparambu in Chelembra in Malappuram district, was gasping for breath due to heavy coughing.

The teachers, who accompanied him, kept pressing his chest and gave him artificial respiration. On reaching the private hospital in Kozhikode, the colour pencil, which was lodged in his abdomen, was taken out by conducting an endoscopy. The boy is now recuperating in the ICU of the hospital.

It was during the last period that teacher K Shibi noticed Pranav wheezing continuously. After finding a small piece of colour pencil in his pocket, the teacher realised that he had swallowed the rest of it.

Immediately, he was taken to a private hospital situated at Kallambra, around 1.5 km from the school, in the vehicle of another teacher, Sudheer. After administering first aid to Pranav there, he was shifted to a private hospital in Kozhikode.

On the way to the hospital, teachers Shibi, K A Jini and non-teaching staff T Tharanath and Binoy gave him artificial respiration.

The teachers led by headmaster K P Muhammed Shameem also raised a portion of the money needed for his medical treatment from the school itself.