Monsoon Kills 18 Indian Schoolkids

Heavy rainfall has induced landslides causing the deaths of 18 children when a huge rock crushed their school.
Monsoon Kills 18 Indian Schoolkids
8/18/2010
Updated:
8/18/2010
In the village of Sumgarh, in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, heavy rainfall induced landslides causing the deaths of 18 children when a huge rock crushed their school on Wednesday.

Piyush Rautela, executive director of the Disaster Management and Mitigation Center, said seven children were rescued from the debris of the school building, the Hindustan Indian Times reported.

The wounded students were transported to nearby Haldwani Medical College. “We are not in a position to provide them the kind of treatment they urgently need,” a senior medical officer told Times of India.

At the site of the collapsed school, rescue workers continue to search for survivors.

A heavy monsoonal downpour has caused extensive problems in the region. Local media report that on Tuesday rains destroyed a bridge, which connected the village to a nearby town and several houses in the area collapsed as well. Rescue teams are having a hard time reaching the area.

The weather forecast for the next two days is for more rain.