Jul 24, 2023 at 4:08 am BST
Updated 49 minutes ago
Image source: Getty Images
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Desperate parents urged local officials to get updated information about their children
Eleven people have died after the roof of a school gym in northeast China collapsed when it was being used by a girls’ volleyball team, state media reports.
Eyewitnesses to local media report that many of the victims are children, although this has not yet been officially confirmed.
Desperate parents crowded into a nearby hospital for news.
Only eight of the 19 people inside the gym in Heilongjiang Industrial Province survived.
A preliminary investigation found that perlite, a form of volcanic glass, had been illegally piled on the roof and sucked up rainwater, causing the collapse at 15:00 local time (07:00 GMT).
As China National Radio reported, the coach of the middle school girls’ volleyball team could be heard shouting the names of the students as rescue teams fought their way through the rubble in the city of Qiqihar.
The parents questioned the school administration and said there was a lack of proper communication regarding the rescue effort, which dragged on until Monday morning.
“I was told my daughter was gone, but we never saw the child. All of the children had faces covered in mud and blood when they were taken to the hospital. I begged, please let me identify the child. What if that wasn’t my kid?” said one man in a video that was shared widely on social media.
“To have something [the authorities] What did you do four, five, even six hours after the children were admitted to the hospital? … Doctors don’t communicate with us about the progress of the rescue,” he said.
“We have elderly people at home, we have to do that [help them] Be mentally prepared. There are doctors, policemen and other government officials here. But we haven’t heard from you,” he said.
Image source: Chinese local media
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Lax safety standards and poor enforcement have led to high levels of workplace accidents in China.
Construction accidents are common in China and blamed on lax safety standards and poor enforcement.
In June, an explosion at a barbecue restaurant in northwest China killed at least 31 people. A preliminary investigation found that a restaurant worker was replacing a broken valve on an LPG tank at the time of the blast.
In April, a fire at a Beijing hospital killed 29 people and some desperate survivors fled by jumping from windows.