18 Kids Perish in Uttarakhand School Roof Collapse

At least 18 children were killed while six others were rescued from the debris after the roof of a primary school collapsed following heavy rains in Uttarakhand’s Bageshwar district on Wednesday.

CEO of Emergency Response Service, Arun Nautiyal on Wednesday night said around 18 children are feared trapped below the rubble and efforts were underway to rescue them.

He said that the children were in the age group of six to 10 and added that the rescued children who were injured were safe and being attended by doctors.

Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhariyal confirmed that search and rescue teams have recovered bodies of 18 children from the debris of the collapsed building at Sumgad village in Kapkot area, some 450km from Dehradun, reported Agencies.

The roof of the Saraswati Shishu Mandir collapsed this morning when the children were studying, burying them under the debris, they added.

Six other children were rescued safely with minor injuries from the debris.

According to reports some 50 children were in the school when the tragedy struck, but fortunately, several children were in the open compound area.

The chief minister also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 each to the families, which lost their children.

Official sources said that rescue teams were persisting with the effort to find survivors, bearing rough weather.

The tragedy occurred due to heavy landslides triggered by torrential rains at the hill where the school is situated, Bageshwar district magistrate DS Garbiyal was reported as saying.

In her message, Uttarakhand governor Margaret Alva expressed grief over the death of the children and prayed to God for strength to bear the loss.