50 die in junior school collapse

A junior school in western China collapsed on more than 50 students, killing at least five and injuring dozens more, authorities and a human rights group said today.

The rights group blamed dubious building materials and accused police of covering up the accident.

The accident yesterday at Bacun Primary School in Suining, in the western province of Sichuan, happened while pupils were in class, the New York-based group Human Rights in China said. It said the students and a female teacher were buried alive.

One student died at the scene, the rights group said, and more than 30 were ‘‘seriously injured’’. Four of those later died in hospital.

Human Rights in China blamed the collapse on officials who embezzled funds earmarked for the school and built it using poor construction materials.

Citing ‘‘informants,’’ it said teachers had not been paid in months and female students were also being harassed.