A student of the Uttarbanga Krishi Vishwavidyalaya (UBKV) in Cooch Behar died on Sunday after falling ill while participating in a run hosted by the institution on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.

Reyes Rai was 18. He lived in Fagu, a locality in Gorubathan of Kalimpong district.

He had been a first-year student in the undergraduate course in agriculture, sources said.

Pradyut Kumar Pal, the registrar of UBKV, said that on Sunday, an 8km run was organised by the varsity, located in Pundibari on the outskirts of Cooch Behar town, as a tribute to Swami Vivekananda.

“Around 250 runners participated in the run. Reyes was among them. Everything was fine but as he reached near the local hospital, he fell ill and squatted on the road. Soon, he was found lying on the road,” said Pal.

The medical team accompanying the runners throughout the route examined Reyes and rushed him to the local hospital in Pundibari.

He was referred to MJN Medical College & Hospital where the doctors on duty pronounced him dead.

Later in the day, the post-mortem was conducted. The report is likely to come on Monday. His body was then handed over to the family.

“All of us are upset and have expressed our condolences to his family,” Pal added.

Truck misses statue

A dump truck lost control and narrowly missed Swami Vivekananda's statue at a park in Malbazar, Jalpaiguri, around 3am on Sunday, a few hours before residents observed his birth anniversary. The truck rammed into the boundary wall of the park.