21 Die after School Staircase Collapses in North China

Home>>China

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, September 24, 2002

21 Die after School Staircase Collapses in North China

Twenty-one teenage pupils died and 47 more were injured in northern China's Inner Mongolia region when part of a staircase collapsed in a school building, officials said Tuesday.

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

Twenty-one teenage pupils died and 47 more were injured in northern China's Inner Mongolia region when part of a staircase collapsed in a school building, officials said Tuesday.

The accident happened at the No. 2 Middle School in Fengzhen City on Monday evening when the guardrail of the staircase suddenly gave way, a city official who gave his name as Tian told AFP.

The pupils, aged about 14 and 15, were rushing out of lessons onto an exterior staircase on the third floor of the building when the rail collapsed, he said.

"From what I was told, the guardrail collapsed and many pupils died of suffocation," he said.

"I do not have any more details about how this happened."

The injured children were taken to a series of nearby hospitals, he added.

According to a report by the official Xinhua news agency, around 260 medical workers and 12 ambulances were sent to the school to carry out rescue work.

"Special teams have been established to investigate the cause of and to deal with the aftermath of the accident," Xinhua said.

The school is located on the third floor of a building, with offices and shops below, Tian said.

Officials at the school itself and at other government agencies in Fengzhen were not immediately available for comment.

Fengzhen is about 200 kilometres (125 miles) southeast of Hohhot, the capital of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in China's far north.

Questions?Comments? Click here