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Chinese authorities say 11 people died when a roof collapsed at a high school gymnasium in the country’s far northeast
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescuers search for trapped victims at the site of a collapsed high school gymnasium in Qiqihar, northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province on Monday, July 24, 2023. More than 10 people died when a roof collapsed at a high school gymnasium in China’s far northeast, authorities said Monday. (Zhang Tao/Xinhua via AP)
The associated press
BEIJING — Eleven people died when a roof collapsed at a high school gymnasium in China’s far northeast, authorities said Monday.
The incident took place in the city of Qiqihar on Sunday and the last victim was pulled from the wreckage on Monday morning. The official Xinhua News Agency said construction work at the school was the likely cause after workers stored materials on the roof of the gym that absorbed rainwater.
Nineteen people had been to the gymnasium of the No. 34 Middle School, Xinhua said, but did not give details of how many were students. Footage on social media and the Baidu news website showed angry parents complaining about what they said was a lack of communication from authorities.
Such expressions of anger and defiance are usually quickly suppressed by police and government agencies concerned about social unrest. The ruling Communist Party does not let its authority be questioned and tries to keep the press and social media completely under control.
Construction and industrial accidents are a regular occurrence in China, largely due to corporate disregard for safety standards and corruption or lack of commitment on the part of local government agencies.
Those problems are particularly acute in second- and third-tier cities such as Qiqihar, which is in China’s rust belt province of Heilongjiang, bordering Russia, which has seen large-scale economic decline and outward migration in recent years.
Eleven killed in collapse of roof of high school gymnasium in far northeast China, officials say
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