11 girls killed in school building collapse

At least 11 schoolgirls were killed and another 14 injured when a school building in the western Indian state of Gujarat collapsed, news reports said today.

“The (rescue) operation is over as there do not seem to be any more people trapped in the debris. Workers are sifting through the rubble,” local administrator, Vatsala Vasudev, told the Press Trust of India.

The accident took place in Tichakpura village, near the town of Surat, about 158 miles south of the state capital Gandhinagar on Friday, PTI said.

The four-storey girls’ residential school had been built by the state government for tribespeople living in the area.

The local government has ordered an inquiry into cause of the building collapse.