Classroom ceiling collapsed at Hermann Gmeiner High School: Was it newly expanded or repaired?
(Baonghean.vn) - The ceiling collapse at Hermann Gmeiner High School is a rare incident. Although rescue and repair work is being urgently carried out, it has also left many concerns and worries about the school's facilities.
Unexpected accident
Five days after the ceiling collapse in class 11A9, Hermann Gmeiner High School, student Lang The T. still cannot fully comprehend the unexpected events that happened that day. The accident caused him to break his left leg and had to undergo emergency surgery at the 115 General Hospital. Currently, although his health is stable and he is ready to be discharged from the hospital, T. will need a long time before he can walk normally again.
Recalling the incident, T. said: At that time, we had just entered the first period and had been studying for about 20 minutes. I was sitting at the second desk when suddenly the entire ceiling in the front half of the classroom collapsed. None of us could run in time. There were 5 people at my desk, 1 girl was just sent out by the teacher and luckily escaped. The rest were all injured and had scratches. As for me, the concrete block crushed my leg and broke it.
According to T., class 11A9 has 50 students. The injured students were mainly sitting at tables 1 and 2. T.'s teacher, an English teacher, was standing on the podium at the time and was also injured and had to be taken to the hospital for emergency treatment. T. said the ceiling collapse was completely unexpected. However, before that, classmates said that the phenomenon of plaster falling from the ceiling still happened occasionally. However, because it was considered normal, no one paid attention.
Along with T., before that, another female student in class 11 A9 also had to stay in the hospital for 2 days for observation because of signs of headache, dizziness and suspected brain damage. After a CT scan of the brain showed no signs of abnormalities, this student was discharged from the hospital in a conscious state.
Speaking more about the health of the students, Dr. Chuong Van Hang - Department of Orthopedics, General Hospital 115 said: When T. was brought to the hospital, he had a calf injury, was in a lot of pain and had a fracture in the middle of his leg. After a quick diagnosis, we decided to perform emergency surgery that afternoon. At this point, his health has stabilized and he will be discharged soon. However, he will need at least 1 year to recover.
Along with these two patients, the most serious case is Dang Thao M., who has been transferred to Viet Duc Hospital and has undergone emergency surgery. The patient was admitted to the hospital due to a domestic accident, multiple trauma, fracture and dislocation of the T11 thoracic vertebra, complete spinal paralysis; small subarachnoid hemorrhage in the brain, Glasgow score of 15; fractures of ribs 1-4 on the right side, hemothorax, and bilateral pneumothorax.
In recent days, together with the family, Hermann Gmeiner High School has also sent teachers directly to the hospital to support the treatment of Dang Thao M. This afternoon, a school representative who is currently with Thao M. at Viet Duc Hospital said: Student Thao M. is completely conscious, after surgery, her health is stable and she has been able to eat porridge. Although the treatment is still difficult, the school will continue to make efforts to support student Thao M. as much as possible, together with the family and the hospital.
This morning, the Chairman of the Hanoi Education Trade Union and representative of the Capital Education sector also visited and encouraged student Dang Thao M. who is being treated at Viet Duc Hospital.
The collapsed classroom was recently renovated.
Regarding the above incident, classroom 11A9 and adjacent classrooms are still sealed for inspection. Students in these classes are temporarily transferred to afternoon classes because the school is lacking classrooms.
Previously, through interviews with injured students and some students atHermann Gmeiner High School, the students also said: Classroom 11A9 where the collapse occurred last year was originally a place to store physical education equipment. Before the new school year, because there were not enough classrooms, the school renovated it, breaking down the old wall to expand the classroom for students. The remaining adjacent classrooms were also renovated similarly.
After the unfortunate incident, the parent of an injured student said: Although the incident was unfortunate, we hope that after this incident, the school will soon review the classroom facilities. If the classrooms are old or degraded, repairs should be made to ensure that similar situations do not occur.
Currently, the People's Committee of Hung Phuc Ward has also made an initial report on the ceiling collapse that injured students and teachers. According to the report, at around 7:45 a.m., class 11A9 was in English class when the wooden ceiling above the classroom fell down. At that time, there were 49/50 students in the class. The falling wooden ceiling injured 10 people (including 9 students and the teacher). In the row related to the collapsed ceiling, in addition to class 11A9, there was another class that was also affected and the school has moved it to another location to continue teaching and learning.
The incident is still being investigated by the authorities and there is no final conclusion. After the incident at Hermann Gmeiner High School, the Vinh City Department of Education and Training has also requested all schools in the area to review all facilities and immediately report to the city if there is a risk of unsafety. In particular, the area where the classroom with the collapsed ceiling at Hermann Gmeiner High School will be temporarily out of use to ensure student safety.
