22 pupils injured after landslide hits China school

 Twenty-two pupils were injured Thursday after landslide hit a primary school in south China's Rong'an County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, local authorities said.

The landslide which occurred in Liuliao Village of Fushi Township at noon was triggered by persistent rain. The landslide caused the collapse of the walls of the school's classrooms, said Jiang Yu, deputy head of the county.

As of 6 p.m. Thursday, 23 people, including 22 pupils and a staff member at the school canteen, were being hospitalized and in stable condition.

Two of them suffered serious injuries. One had a broken leg and another sustained craniocerebral trauma.

All the 149 students and 12 teachers in the school have been relocated to safe places, according to Jiang.

Wei Lan, director of the land and resources bureau of the county, said a total of 1,600 cubic meters of rocks on the hill at the back of the school collapsed and rolled down to hit the school.

The bureau has launched a safety inspection around the site of the landslide to prevent secondary disasters, Wei added.

The school will resume classes next Monday as the county's education bureau will arrange a temporary place for students from the school, said Zhao Daliang, director of the education bureau of Rong'an County.

Source: XINHUA