2023-07-24 11:08:27
11 dead, including women’s volleyball players, in the collapse of a middle school gymnasium in Qiqihar, China
July 24, 2023 at 11:04 am
Eleven people were killed when the roof of a middle school gymnasium collapsed on Sunday (July 23) in the northeastern Chinese city of Qiqihar.
According to state media reports, the gymnasium is located in Qiqihar No. 34 Middle School. Officials have not released the specific identity of the deceased, but media reports said that the victims were all students of the school’s women’s volleyball team, which was training in the gymnasium at the time of the incident.
On-site pictures showed that the entire roof of the stadium had collapsed, leaving only the surrounding walls, and the inside of the stadium was in ruins.
According to reports, there were 19 people in the stadium at the time of the accident, and four escaped on their own.
After the incident, nearly 160 firefighters and 39 fire engines rushed to search and rescue.
An initial investigation into the collapse found that builders of a school building under construction next to the gymnasium had placed perlite, an insulating material used in buildings, on the roof of the building.
The Xinhua report added that heavy rain caused the perlite to swell and increase its weight, causing the roof to collapse under its weight.
A widely circulated video shows that some parents of the victims questioned that the authorities did not inform the parents of the child’s situation in time following the incident, but instead sent a large number of police and officials to the scene to maintain stability.
According to official reports, the on-site search and rescue work ended on the morning of Monday (July 24), and the relevant responsible persons have been detained by the police.
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