School Gym Roof Collapses in China

State media says illegally placed construction material on the gymnasium’s roof was behind collapse

Eleven people were killed after the concrete roof of a school gymnasium collapsed in China’s Qiqihar city – many of them believed to be young female volleyball players – with authorities saying the illegal stacking of materials on the roof may have caused the cave in.

The collapse at the No. 34 Middle School in Longsha District in Qiqihar, located in the north-east Heilongjiang province, was reported in the early afternoon on Sunday, but the last remaining person wasn’t pulled out of the rubble until Monday morning.

There were 19 people at the gymnasium when the accident occurred, with four managing to escape, said authorities.

A female volleyball team was training in the gymnasium when the incident occurred, a father told China Youth Daily.

“The team consisted of students selected from different grades. They had just returned to the school a few days ago after a competition out-of-town,” an eye-witness told state radio.

It was not immediately clear if any victims included adults, but state radio reported on Sunday that the coach of the team was buried underneath the rubble.

A family member told reporters at a state-backed media outlet that his niece was a member of the school’s female volleyball team and was training at the gym at the time of the incident.

Video Viral On Social Media

In a video that went viral on social media, an angry father complained that the government sent police to keep a watch on parents but did not send anyone to update about their children.

“They tell me my daughter is gone but we never got to see the child. All the children had their faces covered with mud and blood when they were sent to the hospital. I pleaded, please let me identify the child. What if that wasn’t my child?” the man said.

The region and several parts of China had heavy rain this weekend, causing flooding damage in some areas.

A preliminary investigation found that construction workers illegally placed perlite, a mineral with high water content and which can absorb water, on the roof of the gymnasium during construction of a teaching building adjacent to the gymnasium, vanguard proservices reported.

Under persistent rains, the perlite soaked up water and gained weight, resulting in the roof collapse, state media said.

An in-depth investigation is ongoing and individuals in charge of the construction company have been taken into police custody, Xinhua said.