11 Dead After School Gymnasium Roof Collapses In China

A school gymnasium ceiling collapsed in China, killing 11 people in a terrible occurrence that shook locals. The tragic accident occurred recently, leaving families, students, and local officials mourning and seeking answers.

Concerns have been raised regarding building safety and maintenance standards due to the disaster, sparking enquiries into why the collapse occurred. As the country mourns this heartbreaking loss, there is a growing call for responsibility and actions to prevent similar calamities in the future.

11 Dead After School Gym Roof Collapses In China

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The concrete ceiling of a school gymnasium fell in China's Qiqihar city, killing almost a dozen, many of whom were reported to be young female volleyball players, with authorities blaming illegal material stacked on the roof for the catastrophe.

The collapse of No. 34 Middle School in Longsha District in Qiqihar, located in the north-east Heilongjiang province, was reported in the early afternoon on Sunday. Still, the final person retrieved from the wreckage was discovered on Monday morning.

Investigators stated that there were 19 individuals in the gymnasium when the disaster occurred, with four escaping. According to a father, the incident occurred as a female volleyball team was practising in the gymnasium.

"The team was made up of students from various grades. They had just returned to school a few days before after an out-of-town competition," an eyewitness told state radio. It was unclear whether any victims were adults, but state radio said on Sunday that the team's coach was buried beneath the rubble.

According to a family member who spoke to reporters from a state-backed media site, his niece was a member of the school's female volleyball team and was exercising at the gym at the time of the incident.

Credit: ANI

An angry father protested in a viral social media video that the government sent police to keep an eye on parents but no one to check in on their children. "They say my daughter is gone, but we never saw her. When the youngsters were taken to the hospital, their faces were all smeared in muck and blood. 'Please let me identify the youngster'," I begged.

"What if it wasn't my child?" the dad wondered. Heavy rain fell across the region and several sections of China this weekend, creating floods in some areas.

Xinhua said a preliminary investigation discovered that construction workers illegally placed perlite, a mineral with a high water content that can absorb water, on the gymnasium's roof while constructing a teaching facility adjacent to the gymnasium.

Credit: CNN

As per state media, the perlite was soaked in water and accumulated weight due to persistent rains, causing the roof to collapse.

According to Xinhua, an extensive investigation is underway, and those in control of the building company have been placed in police custody.

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