Narrow escape for schoolchildren, staff in Himachal

Kumarhatti, Aug 30 (IANS) More than 350 schoolchildren and staff had a narrow escape here in Himachal Pradesh when a portion of a private school building collapsed on Tuesday, an official said.

"All the students of Sarvhitkari Shiksha Niketan were rescued by school authorities just a few minutes before its portion collapsed," Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Kanwar told IANS.

He said school staff felt vibrations in the building before it actually crumbled.

School authorities said all the 342 students were safe.

"Mala ma'am took all the students immediately out of the class as she felt the building shaking," a student informed police.

"We will definitely look into the reasons that led to the collapse of the building. We will not allow the school to operate till it's declared safe by the administration," Kanwar added.