At least six children were injured when the asbestos roof of a Christian missionary school in Jharkhand’s Simdega district came cracking down on Friday afternoon.
While the teachers and students said they felt an earthquake tremor before the roof collapsed, locals and authorities denied any tremors in the district.
The children were immediately rushed to Simdega Sadar Hospital. District education superintendent Renuka Tigga, who visited the children at the hospital, said of the six children, three suffered head injuries.
“Their wounds required stitching but thankfully all of them are out of danger,” she said. Among those injured were four boys and two girls. By the time of filing the report, three of the injured were discharged from the hospital after necessary treatment.
The Koronja High School is a co-education school run by the Christian missionaries. The school building is very old and has developed cracks in some places. Teachers said the Class 6 was in progress when all of inside it felt a sudden tremor followed by some cracking sound on the roof.
Soon the teacher and children started running out. Within seconds the roof caved in and the last six children who could not flee on time were trapped beneath the debris.
{{/usCountry}}Soon the teacher and children started running out. Within seconds the roof caved in and the last six children who could not flee on time were trapped beneath the debris.
{{/usCountry}}Jharkhand has witnessed mild to heavy showers followed by a strong wind on Wednesday. Authorities suspect the rains coupled with wind could have done some damage to the school’s roof that eventually caved in today.
Police superintendent Rajiv Ranjan Singh said authorities were investigating the actual cause of the incident as he too ruled out earthquake tremors in the region.