Roof collapse kills 11; probe underway

At 3:10 pm, the rescue team arrived and said the roof of the gymnasium had completely collapsed. As of Monday morning, all 15 trapped people had been located, among whom five had no vital signs when found and six others died in the hospital. The four others had non-life-threatening injuries.

According to a report released by Hubei province-based Jimu News, the 15 trapped people had included two coaches. A female coach surnamed Ding was confirmed dead, and a male coach surnamed Gao was being treated at a hospital for a foot injury. The gymnasium building is around 1,200 square meters with a steel frame; the roof was composed of a concrete slab.

A preliminary investigation found that construction workers had illegally stacked perlite, an insulation material, on the roof of the gymnasium during construction of a teaching building next to the gym. Due to recent rainfall, the perlite had soaked up water, which increased its weight and resulted in the roof's collapse.