Staircase collapses in Russian school killing five children
Wednesday, 01 Oct 2008 12:51
A staircase has collapsed in a Russian school killing at least five children
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A staircase has collapsed in a Russian school, killing at least five children and injuring at least four others, officials have said.
The accident at the Belyayevskaya school, in the Orenburg region, was caused by three flights of stairs giving way as a result of maintenance work in the school roof, an emergency services ministry spokeswoman suggested.
"Eleven children have been taken out of the rubble, five of them are dead, four are injured and 800 people were evacuated," the Reuters news agency quotes the spokeswoman as saying.
"The rescue work is still in progress, so I can't know for sure if there is still anybody under the rubble."
Russia's Interfax news agency said a criminal investigation had been launched into the accident and building safety regulations were being checked.