7 dead, 26 injured as school building collapses in Rajasthan's Jhalawar

Tragedy struck in Jhalawar, Rajasthan, on Friday morning when the roof of a primary school collapsed, killing seven  people and leaving 26 others injured.

The children at the Piplod Government School in Manoharthana block of the district were assembling for morning prayers when the incident took place.

The police were informed at around 7:45 am.

Police said the children were pulled out of the debris with the help of teachers and villagers.

Five of the deceased have been identified as Kundar, Kanha, Raidas, Anuradha and Badal Bhil, Station House Officer, Manoharthana, Nand Kishore said.

"Four children have died and 17 others are injured. Ten children have been referred to Jhalawar out of which three to four are critical,” Superintendent of Police, Jhalawar, Amit Kumar told PTI.

There were around 35 students in the building when the incident occurred, officials said.

Earlier Station House Officer at Dangipura police station Vijendra Singh had said that classes for 6 and 7 in the building gave away leading to the collapse.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives in the incident.

In a post on X, he said, "The mishap at a school in Jhalawar, Rajasthan, is 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 added.

Condoling the loss of lives, Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma said, "The concerned officials have been directed to ensure proper treatment of the injured children."

"May God grant a place to the departed divine souls in his lotus feet and give strength to the bereaved family to bear this immense sorrow," he said.

Education minister Madan Dilawar said a high-level inquiry will be conducted into the incident.

He directed officials to rush to the spot and ensure that the children get proper treatment.

"A very unfortunate incident occurred in Piplod village in Jhalawar where roof of a school collapsed. I have instructed district collector and education officer to make all kinds of arrangements for treatment. The collector and other officers have reached the spot," he said.

"I will get a high-level inquiry done to find out why this incident happened, " the minister said.        Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot hoped for the speedy recovery of the injured students.

"There are reports of many children and teachers getting injured due to the collapse of a government school building in Jhalawar's Manoharthana. I pray to God for minimum loss of life and speedy recovery of the injured, " he said on X.

With PTI inputs