11 hurt as school floor caves in

[General Veers]

Thursday October 14, 2010

11 hurt as school floor caves in

By EMBUN MAJID and TAN EE LOO
[email protected]

ALOR SETAR: Ten Year Four pupils and their teacher went crashing when a huge part of the cement floor of their classroom gave way. They fell some 0.7m together with tables and chairs, in the mishap which occurred at about 11am at SK Gunung here yesterday. They were pulled out of the rubble by other teachers who rushed to their aid.

Sinking feeling: A man looking at the flooring of the classroom which caved in at SK Gunung in Alor Setar Wednesday. Ten students and their teacher were hurt when the cement floor gave way.

The five boys and five girls were sent to the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital where they received outpatient treatment for cuts and bruises. It is learnt that 30 pupils from Class 4D Amanah were attending a religious lesson at the time. The classroom was in a 50-year-old single-storey structure built on stilts.

The building, previously used as a storeroom, was renovated in 2007 to house two classrooms for religious and music lessons. Sources said the contractor involved did not remove the original wooden flooring but only placed a layer of cement over it. One of the students, Muhammad Aska Mohd Johari, said he was standing by his table when he felt the floor shaking.

“Ten of us and our religious teacher tumbled. We panicked when we got tangled with chairs and tables. “I heard a friend running outside the classroom to call for help,” said Muhammad Aska, who had scratches on his arms. Another student, Filza Nadirah Idris, said she was sitting when she had a “sinking feeling.” “It felt like I was flying and suddenly a table was on top of me.

I cried because my knees hurt,” she said when met at the hospital. Filza said the incident occurred when the religious class was about to end at 11am. Headmistress Azizah Ali refused to comment while Kedah Education Department director Shahidan Abdul Rahman could not be reached. Alor Setar Fire and Rescue Department acting chief Md Noor Daud said 17 firemen rushed to the scene to help.

“We are inspecting the structure of the building and investigating the cause of the incident,” he said. Deputy Education Minister Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi said initial findings showed that soil erosion could have caused the mishap. He said the school would not be closed but the affected building had been sealed for safety reasons.

 

[Sauron]

School building closed pending probe by PWD


Friday October 15, 2010

School building closed pending probe by PWD

ALOR SETAR: The SK Gunong building where a classroom floor gave way and 10 pupils and a teacher were injured will no longer be used pending investigations by the Public Works Department (PWD). Kedah Education Department director Shahidan Abdul Rahman said a report had been submitted to the state PWD following Wednesday’s incident. He said that the building, for religious and music classes, would only be used if the PWD declared it safe.

Building closed: A general view of the classroom where the cement flooring gave way on Wednesday, injuring a teacher and 10 pupils of SK Gunong.
The building is now off limits pending investigations by PWD.

It was reported that 10 Year Four pupils and their teacher were injured when a huge part of the cement floor of their classroom gave way.
They fell some 0.7m in the 11am mishap and were pulled out of the rubble by other teachers. The five boys and five girls, all aged 10, were sent to the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital where they received out-patient treatment for cuts and bruises.

It is learnt that 30 pupils from Class 4D Amanah were attending a religious class at the time. Shahidan said his department had also asked the state PWD to check another building at the same school which was also very old and used for kindergarten classes. ‘All schools in the state have been ordered to inform the department if they are using old buildings for classes.,” he added.