Around seven children of a government school in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar district were killed and two were critically injured after the building of the school collapsed on Friday.
The incident occurred at around 8.30 am at Piplodi government school in Manohar Thana.
According to officials, nearly 60 children, besides teachers and staff members, were present in the premises when the roof of the single-storey building collapsed.
The building was in a dilapidated condition and several complaints were raised in this regard earlier. The school offers education till Class 8.
Expressing grief over the incident, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma said the concerned authorities have been directed to ensure proper treatment of the injured children.
“The tragic incident of the collapse of the school roof at Piplodi in Jhalawar is extremely sad and heart-breaking,” he said.
All the children were between eight and 11 years of age. Two children are admitted in the Intensive Care Unit.
According to eyewitnesses and local villagers, the roof suddenly caved in due to persistent heavy rainfall over the past few days. The sound of the collapse was followed by screams and confusion as dust and debris engulfed the area.
Visuals from the site showed local residents rushing to rescue the trapped ones. At least four JCB machines also arrived at the spot to help clear the debris.
Officials in the district administration, including the collector, and disaster relief teams also helped with the rescue operations. Family members of the school children rushed to the spot on learning about the building collapse.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the incident was “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,” his office said in a post on X.
