At least 40 children aged between eight and 15 were injured on Friday morning when the floor of the first floor verandah of a private school building in Lucknow’s adjoining Barabanki area collapsed, senior police officials confirmed.

Barabanki District Magistrate Satyendra Kumar said that about 25 injured students were being treated at the Jahangeerabad Community Health Centre, which is just 300 metres from the accident site, while the rest… He said that the students were being provided best medical care and the children who were trapped on the first floor after a portion of the floor collapsed had been rescued.

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He said the school had been sealed until further notice while a judicial inquiry had been ordered to ascertain the reasons behind the collapse. He said legal action would be taken against the school authorities and others responsible for the incident.

Giving further details, Barabanki Superintendent of Police (SP) Dinesh Kumar Singh said the incident took place at around 8 am at Awadh Academy School within Jahangeerabad police station premises when students were preparing for morning assembly.

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He said the preliminary investigation showed that the ground floor appeared to have collapsed due to overloading.

He explained that the construction quality might not have been that good and many children had gathered on the first floor to line up for the morning assembly, following which the incident took place. He said the principal and other officials in charge, who were not found in the school after the incident, would be questioned and strictest action would be taken against them as per the findings. Medical care for the injured students is a priority, he added.

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The SP said the parents of the students have been informed and a help desk has been set up at the school and hospital to help the students reach home safely. He said one more thing has come to light: the school is affiliated up to class 10 but the school authorities will admit students up to class 12 and provide classes. He said the education department authorities have been asked to give a report in this regard.