Roof collapses at school in Thailand, killing seven sheltering from rain

The meteorological department issued a warning for heavy rain in northern Thailand this week. Monday was also the official start of the rainy season.

Thai rescue workers at the scene of a collapsed metal roof on a structure at the Wat Nern Por primary school in Phichit province in northern Thailand, Monday, May 22, 2023.

BANGKOK: Seven people, including four children, died Monday when strong winds from a rainstorm caused a metal roof on a school’s activity center to collapse in northern Thailand, officials said Tuesday.

The latest casualty was a 6-year-old boy who died late Monday night in a hospital after the collapse at the Wat Nern Por primary school, according to the public relations office in Phichit province, 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of Bangkok.

Several students had gone inside the activity center to shelter from the rain when the roof collapsed, according to a Facebook post from the official disaster prevention department, and 18 people were hospitalized.

Patcharin Siri, a staff member of the provincial Public Relations Department, said four boys, two parents and one member of the school’s cleaning staff died.

The meteorological department issued a warning for heavy rain in northern Thailand this week. Monday was also the official start of the rainy season.