Haiti School Collapse Death Toll Reaches 82

World | November 8, 2008, Saturday // 00:00
Haiti School Collapse Death Toll Reaches 82: Haiti School Collapse Death Toll Reaches 82 The death toll from the Friday school collapse in Haiti climbed to 82 on Saturday, with 107 injured. Photo by BGNES

The death toll from the Friday school collapse in Haiti climbed to 82 on Saturday, with 107 injured, Haiti President Rene Preval reported cited by Haitian Press Network.

Rescue workers found early Saturday 21 bodies in a classroom, all believed to be students from one class.

It is not known how many students were in the school when it collapsed Friday morning, but reports say that anywhere between 500 and 700 children and teenagers typically crowded into the three-story concrete building of College La Promesse.

Most of the students at the school ranged in age from 10 to 20, officials said, but some are younger. Haitian press reports said kindergarten, primary and secondary students attended the school.

The school is in an extremely poor part of town and the roads are nearly impassable. A United Nations helicopter was unable to land in the area.

The two-story school had an addition built in the rear over a 200-foot ravine and the steep hillside is covered with run-down houses and shack.

The concrete building's third story was still under construction, and the local mayor stated that he suspected a structural defect caused the collapse, not the recent chain of tropical storms that swept devastation across Haiti. Neighbors have also said that the building was poorly rebuilt after it partially collapsed eight years ago.

A teacher at the school stated that people who lived just downhill abandoned their land out of fear that the building would tumble onto them, and that the school's owner tried to buy up their vacated properties.

The disaster happened when the second floor crumbled onto the first and the building collapsed into a twisted mountain of concrete.

Police commissioner Francene Moreau says the minister who runs the church-operated school could face criminal charges. Efforts to reach the preacher were not successful.

Haiti President Rene Preval and Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis toured the disaster area.

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