With the recovery of two more bodies from the rubble during a search, the death toll in the school building collapse has reached 11.
TICHAKPURA (Gujarat): With the recovery of two more bodies from the rubble during a night-long search, the toll in the residential school building collapse has reached 11, an official said on Saturday.
"The rescue operation is over as there does not seem to be anymore persons trapped in the debris. Workers are sifting through the rubble," Surat District Collector Vatsala Vasudev said.
Fourteen tribal girls are receiving treatment for injuries at a hospital in neighbouring Vyara, the collector said.
The roof and staircase of the four-storeyed building, which houses the government-run Adarsh Nivasi Shala for tribal girls, collapsed on Friday evening.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has ordered an inquiry into the incident.
Parents of the victims, all girl students, blamed the hostel authorities for the incident, saying they did not heed to the warnings by students who repeatedly complained of the building structure being weak.
Suresh Gamit, the father of Tejal, an eight standard student who died in the collapse, blamed the hostel authorities for not taking complaints of the girls seriously.
"My daughter and her friends used to complain that the structure and even the stairs used to wobble with the wind. It was a matter of time before this incident happened," he said.
The father of another victim, Deepika Chaudhary, echoed his sentiments. "Children had complained about the poor building structure but nothing was done. Even a government survey was underway to strengthen the structure but the work was very slow," he said.
State Education Minister Anandiben Patel, who rushed to the site on Friday night, said the government would investigate the incident.
The building was constructed by the government to cater to the education of tribal girls living in this predominantly tribal areas.
People in the vicinity and construction workers from nearby sites first came to the rescue of the trapped students before the district authorities reached the spot.
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