Mourning and anger mount in aftermath of Chinese school gym roof collapse
- Families of the 10 members of a volleyball team and teacher who died in the accident in Qiqihar marked the culturally significant seventh day after death
- Internet users around the country ordered tributes to be left outside the school while others demanded answers about the accident
In Chinese tradition, the seventh day after death is the time when the souls of loved ones revisit the world for the final time.
The roof collapse in the city of Qiqihar in Heilongjiang province last Sunday killed 10 members of a middle school girls’ volleyball team and their coach.
In a message posted online early on Saturday, a mother said she had prepared some make-up before her daughter was buried at sea the following day.
“My child, your school bag was found [in the ruins] yesterday but your mobile phone was not here, only the medals and the pocket money you’d saved, and do you know how heartbroken I was when looking at all of those?” the mother wrote, according to an online video account owned by Changsha TV in Hunan province.
“I know you loved to be beautiful, and when I wake up the next morning, I’ll bring lipstick, powder blush and eyeshadow to the mortuary and your burial at sea.”
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On China’s highly censored internet, social media users have expressed sympathy alongside the families.
Viral videos showed hundreds of cups of bubble tea as well as snacks, yogurts and flowers laid outside the school gate in tribute to the deceased.
They were believed to be ordered by people around the country and were delivered by delivery riders.
“My friend saw some posts online saying that some had paid for bubble tea or juice to be delivered to the school, so he ordered some, and the delivery rider took a photo for him, showing that many people did the same thing,” one internet user based in Shanxi province, some 1,400km (870 miles) from Qiqihar, wrote on the social media platform Weibo.
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School gym roof collapses in northeast China, killing 11 students and injuring 4
“We feel so sorry for these young people, for experiencing such tragedies at the best time of their lives.”
Others continued to express anger about the accident while commenting on a eulogy for the dead published online by the No 34 Middle School.
“For seven days, pain has shattered the galaxy to pieces, turned into stars, turned into the bright moon, turned into your faces, and stayed in the hearts of your families, teachers, and classmates who adore you,” it read.
One Weibo user wrote: “We just want to know who shattered the rooftop and the hearts of the people.”
“This is a man-made disaster,” another wrote, while a third added: “Could you just leave heaven and the earth alone please?”
The accident has led to questions about how and why it could have happened.
Preliminary investigations suggest that construction materials had been illegally stored on the roof, causing it to collapse.
Fu Jianyi, an architectural engineer, told Shanghai-based news portal The Paper that it was a “low-level common sense mistake” that should have been stopped by local authorities and regulators.
Since the tragedy, the Ministry of Education has ordered schools and universities across the country to step up efforts to ensure security.
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According to The Paper, building safety inspections have been carried out at universities in several provinces including Anhui, Ningxia, Jilin, Hebei and Henan, while some universities have issued fresh safety instructions.
