Qiqihar: Eleven killed as roof collapses at middle school gym in China

Eleven people have been killed as a roof collapsed during a girls' volleyball session at a school in China, according to local reports.

The incident occurred on Sunday at a gymnasium in the northeast city of Qiqihar and the last victim was pulled from the wreckage on Monday morning.

Only eight of the 19 people in the gym at the time survived, authorities said, though they did not confirm the claims of witnesses that many of the victims were children.

The official Xinhua News Agency said construction work at the school was the likely cause, after workers illegally piled materials on the gym's roof that absorbed rain water.

Social media and the Baidu news website carried footage of distraught 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 departments worried over social unrest - the ruling Communist Party allows no challenges to its authority and seeks to keep total control over the press and social media.

Construction and industrial accidents are regular occurrences in China, largely resulting from companies ignoring safety standards and corruption or a lack of diligence on the part of local government agencies.

Those problems are especially acute in second and third-tier cities such as Qiqihar, which lies in the province of Heilongjiang.

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