10 hurt as school building collapses in Naga City

NAGA CITY, Philippines—At least 10 parents and their children were injured after an old school building in Naga City collapsed Thursday afternoon.

Ernie Elcamel, head of the Disaster Management Department of the Naga City’s Public Safety Office, said that the 10 injured — six parents and four school children aged around five to six — sustained minor injuries after the floor of the main building of the Sta. Cruz Elementary School in Barangay (village) Sta. Cruz, Naga City, collapsed around 4:45 p.m. Thursday.

He said there were at least 165 parents and children inside the wood and concrete building at the time of the collapse.

He said there might be more wounded but only 10 of them agreed to be taken to the Naga City Hospital.

Flora Rodriquez, 39, mother of student Kian, 6, said that she heard rumbling, which she first mistook for an earthquake before she saw the floor crumble, sending all the people crashing down to the wet soil underneath the building.

She said she frantically searched for her son whom she found buried with soil and water up to his shoulders under a pile of people.  Her son sustained minor gashes on his right upper arm.

Kian was not counted in the 10 injured as the boy refused to board the ambulance that ferried the injured to the hospital. However, Flora, who was interviewed at the school grounds, decided to later bring her son to the emergency room of the Naga City Hospital for treatment.

She said she and the other parents were in the building to attend a meeting for the upcoming Mr. And Ms. United Nations in their school.

Elcamel said personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) who rushed to the scene immediately cordoned off the building and declared it off-limits until such time that the school board could decide whether to take down or renovate the building.

He said the old wooden floor, which was already creaking, should have been enough indicator that the building was unsafe.