At least 7 children killed as India school roof collapses after weeks of monsoon rains
The incident happened around 8:00 a.m. local time at the Government Primary School in Jhalawar district's Piplodi village, as students gathered for their morning assembly.
Around 60 children and teachers were in the school when the roof of the single-story building collapsed, burying students under debris.
Area residents rushed to the scene and managed to rescue dozens of students, and police and other government workers also joined the rescue efforts.
All the injured students — between the ages of eight and 11 years — were being treated at a local hospital. Two were said to be in critical condition.
Indian news outlets showed video of residents gathered at the site of the collapse, with some students' family members crying.
Some reports said the school building was in a run-down condition and noted that persistent, heavy rainfall over the past few weeks may have been a factor behind the deadly collapse. It is monsoon season in India, and the storms have already brought misery to the eastern part of the country, with dozens of people killed by lighting strikes in recent weeks.
Jhalawar district official Ajay Singh said the school building had not been flagged as unsafe after a recent survey, however.
"A detailed investigation will be conducted and strict action taken against those responsible," Singh told media gathered in the town.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the incident "tragic and deeply saddening."
"My thoughts are with the affected students and their families in this difficult hour. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. Authorities are providing all possible assistance to those affected," he said in a social media post.
Rajasthan's state education minister, Madan Dilawar, said experts were examining the stability of other buildings on the school campus.
Deadly building collapses are not uncommon during monsoon rains in India. Many buildings in India are weak due to insufficient enforcement of building safety codes, and that leaves them particularly vulnerable to the deluges.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Toll of India Himalayan flood likely to be at least 70
Indian officials say at least 68 people are unaccounted for a week after a deadly wall of icy water swept away a Himalayan town and buried it in mud. On top of four people reported to have been killed, it takes the likely overall toll of the August 5 disaster to more than 70 dead. Videos broadcast by survivors showed a terrifying surge of muddy water sweeping away multi-storey apartment blocks. Disaster officials said Tuesday that they were searching for corpses in the wreckage of the tourist town of Dharali in Uttarakhand state. Gambhir Singh Chauhan, from the National Disaster Response Force, said sniffer dogs had identified several sites indicating there was a body but when "when digging started, water came out from below". Chauhan said teams were also using ground penetrating radar in the grim search. More than 100 people were initially reported as missing. But with roads swept away and mobile phone communications damaged, it has taken rescuers days to cross-check the list. The local government now lists 68 people as missing, including 44 Indians and 22 Nepalis. Nine soldiers are on the list. Deadly floods and landslides are common during the monsoon season from June to September, but experts say climate change, coupled with poorly planned development, is increasing their frequency and severity. Climate change experts warned that the disaster was a "wake-up call" to the effects of global warming. No official cause of the flood has been given, but scientists have said it was likely that intense rains triggered a collapse of debris from a rapidly melting glacier. Himalayan glaciers, which provide critical water to nearly two billion people, are melting faster than ever before due to climate change, exposing communities to unpredictable and costly disasters. The softening of permafrost increases the chances of landslides. str-ash/pjm/mtp
Condé Nast Traveler
a day ago
- Condé Nast Traveler
What to Know About the Latest Earthquake in Türkiye 2025
A powerful earthquake shook Türkiye's northwestern Balikesir province on Sunday night, killing at least one person, injuring dozens, and sending tremors as far as Istanbul and Izmir. The 6.1-magnitude quake struck near the inland district of Sindirgi at a shallow depth of about six miles, according to Türkiye's disaster agency AFAD. More than a dozen buildings and two mosque minarets collapsed in and around the epicenter, while residents across the Marmara and Aegean regions fled into the streets as strong aftershocks rippled through the night. Officials warned that the casualty toll could rise as inspections continue, and urged the public to avoid damaged structures amid ongoing aftershocks. Search and rescue teams, backed by local police and the Turkish gendarmerie, worked through the early hours to account for residents in the worst-hit areas. Below, see everything you need to know if you're traveling to Türkiye right now. This is a developing news story and will be updated with information as it becomes available. Which areas were impacted? As of Monday, August 11, authorities have now moved from active search-and-rescue operations into the damage assessment phase. In Sindirgi, entire blocks deemed unsafe remain sealed off behind police tape, with municipal teams carrying out door-to-door structural checks. Residents are being urged to stay well clear of any building showing visible damage until inspectors declare it safe, as aftershocks are expected to continue for several days. Officials are also warning of the heightened risk of falling debris, particularly around older or unreinforced structures. The worst impacts were concentrated in Sindirgi and parts of rural Balikesir, where damaged buildings, cordoned-off streets, and access restrictions remain in place.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Pinawa Fire Department rescues 5 from rapid waters at Pinawa Channel
The chief of a rural fire department is asking Manitobans to be prepared before heading out onto waterways, after five people had to be rescued from the Pinawa Channel on Saturday. "All water is dangerous, especially if you're a non-swimmer, and you have to respect it," Pinawa Fire & Rescue Service Chief Mike Purtill said on Sunday. According to Purtill, on Saturday Pinawa Fire & Rescue Service along with RCMP & EMS responded to a report of five adults stranded in the Pinawa Float Channel. He said the five, who were all related and all adults, ventured out onto the channel on tubes and quickly became overwhelmed by the speed of the current. Even more concerning, according to Purtill, was the fact that none of the five who were rescued knew how to swim, or were wearing floatation devices. "They were not prepared at all, no paddles, no life jackets," Purtill said. "And being non-swimmers, they were pretty concerned about their safety." According to Purtill, the group called 911, and fire crews were successfully reached the five stranded floaters, leading them to safety. "They're a family from Winnipeg that were coming to enjoy the day in Pinawa, and they didn't enjoy it so much, because they were stranded in the water which was fairly cool yesterday," he said. "It was cloudy and it was breezy and they were wet, so they were getting pretty cold by the time we got them out." He added he hopes to see fewer people headed out on waterways as unprepared as the five who were rescued Saturday, or it could lead to tragedy or possible fatalities. "People are not planning, or they do not have any respect for the water," he said. "They don't know how fast they can get into trouble and they're just ill-prepared. So if there was a message I wanted to get out, is that 'plan your day, have your life jackets handy.'" So far this year, Manitoba RCMP have issued public releases on seven drownings, including two incidents last weekend. Last Saturday, two men, one from Manitoba and one from Ontario, died after separate drowning incidents at Grand Beach Provincial Park and at Reynolds Ponds.
