A 15-year-old female athlete died on Thursday and three others are battling for their lives after a mass suicide attempt in Kerala, police said on Thursday, an incident which brought the country’s government-run sports programme under a cloud.

With preliminary investigations hinting at ragging as the trigger for the mass suicide attempt at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) hostel at Alappuzha, the Union sports ministry ordered a probe and promised stringent action against any official lapses.

The SAI described the incident as the “worst” in its history though it had faced a scandal last year after gymnasts training for the Incheon Asian Games accused a coach of sexual harassment in Delhi.

Police said that all the four girls were found unconscious on Wednesday night in their room at the hostel of the SAI-run water sports centre at Alappuzha, around 130 km from the state capital.

Doctors at the Alappuzha medical college hospital authorities said the girls – undergoing training in kayaking and canoeing -- had consumed a locally found poisonous fruit Cerbera odollam, the plant of which is also known as the ‘suicide tree’ because of its known toxicity.

State sports minister Thiruvanchur Radhakrishnan, who visited the hospital, said the condition of the three athletes was serious with two of them put on pacemakers.

PTI quoted Alapuzha district collector N Padmakumar as saying, “We have to keep our fingers crossed. We cannot say that the three -- aged 14, 16 and 17 -- have overcome the crisis. It will take 2-3 days to know”.

Police said they have recovered a suicide note from the hostel and suspected ragging as the prime reason behind the incident though the hostel warden claimed the girls were caught consuming alcohol and reprimanded.

Family-members of the deceased, 15-year-old Aparna Ramachandran, said the four athletes were “under pressure” from warden and other senior players.

“They were physically and mentally harassed. Aparna suffered injuries in an attack two weeks back when the coach thrashed her with an oar,” a family-member said of Aparna said.

Sources said the four girls were teased by seniors after the reprimand by the hostel authorities.

Hostel warden K Ragini they may have taken the “extreme step” fearing further action.

The incident has already taken political colours with the students’ wing of the CPM staging a march to the SAI centre on Thursday and demanding strict against “errant” officials.

Talking to newsmen in Delhi, SAI director general I Sriniwas said strict action would be taken if there was evidence if “official apathy or involvement”.

“Kerala police is investigating the case. And a sub-divisional magistrate has taken the statement of one of the girls who was able to speak. A suicide note left at the site was jointly signed by all four. This is the most tragic incident in SAI since its inception,” the director general was quoted as saying.

Union sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal said in statement that he was “deeply aggrieved” by the incident and sought a “factual report” from the SAI director.

“If anyone from SAI is found guilty in connection with this tragic incident, strictest possible action will be taken against him or her,” Sonowal said.

Sources said Kerala home minister Ramesh Chennithala has asked the Kochi range inspector general MR Ajith Kumar to probe the incident and submit a report.

The SAI centre in Alapzuah – which has 62 students – provides training to students in rowing, kayaking and canoeing.

The issue also figured in the Lok Sabha on Thursday with members demanding a probe into the attempted suicide.

CPM-M MP MB Rajesh said the shocking incident should be an eye-opener and government should seriously look into the conditions in sports hostels including those run by SAI.

The sports fraternity also expressed shock at the incident and called for a detailed probe.

Ashwini Nachappa, a former athlete and founding member of Clean Sports India -- a movement for corruption-free sports in India -- termed the incident as extremely unfortunate and said that it should be investigated properly.

The state human rights commission also suo motu registered a case.