Central Romania: School dormitory wall collapses, leaving three students injured and one dead

A wall of the dormitory of the "Tamasi Aron" High School in Odorheiu Secuiesc, Harghita County, central Romania, collapsed on Monday, December 18, injuring four children aged between 15 and 17 years. Three of them were rescued from the debris but the last victim, a 17-year-old boy, died. 

According to the Department for Emergency Situations cited by Digi24, following the collapse of the dormitory in Odorheiu Secuiesc, a boy died, a girl had to be intubated and transported to a hospital in Târgu Mureș, while two other teenagers were conscious but have suffered various traumas. According to information received from the Harghita County School Inspectorate, the victims' classmates have been taken in by families or accommodated in a nearby dormitory and are safe.

Romanian authorities and officials reacted to the tragedy. President Klaus Iohannis stated in a Facebook post that the incident in Odorheiu Secuiesc is "a drama that brutally reminds us that safety in schools remains a critical priority." He called for an investigation into the reasons behind the building's collapse and urged that those responsible be held accountable.

“There are no words to describe a tragedy like the one that occurred this afternoon in Odorheiul Secuiesc. Condolences and much strength to the families of the children involved in this tragic accident! What happened today must not happen again! I appeal to the local authorities to treat with utmost responsibility the degree of safety provided by buildings where children are present,” said education minister Ligia Deca. The minister convened the leadership of the Ministry to determine how the institution can intervene and provide support in Odorheiu Secuiesc. The Ministry of Education is in constant contact with representatives of the Harghita Prefecture, the Harghita Emergency Situations Inspectorate, and the Harghita County School Inspectorate. 

The building that partially collapsed belongs to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese, and the Odorheiu Secuiesc City Hall pays over RON 300,000 (EUR 60,000) in rent annually for it. The part of the building that collapsed housed rooms where the boarding students were accommodated. Works were being conducted around the building to connect it to the city's sewerage network.

The president of the Hungarian minority party, Kelemen Hunor, told Digi24 that the authorities need to find out who approved the construction work at the dormitory of the “Tamasi Aron” High School and punish them. "When you start such work, how can you still allow children in the building?" the UDMR leader asked. "For several days, work has been done around the building, a large trench was dug next to the building, and for two or three days the children said that the walls were cracking. The question is who gave the approval, who left the children in the building during the works and if things were done according to the project's approvals, this is where the responsible and the guilty should be sought and punished,” he added.

The building houses 97 students, according to the Harghita County School Inspectorate, and was not classified as being vulnerable to earthquakes. “The building, from a seismic point of view, was not classified. This school has three building sections, owned by the Catholic Church, specifically the Alba-Iulia Archdiocese, it is rented by the Municipality, and the rent ends next year. There were more children in the dormitory, [...] but some managed to escape from the rooms. But there were few, anyway, because it was their free time, and activities in the dormitory start at 17:00. If it happened at 17:00 it would have been worse, or if it happened during the night when all the children were theoretically in the dormitory. 97 children are housed in the dormitory, it is quite a large dormitory and accommodates children from several schools, not only from their school," said Demeter Levente, head of the School Inspectorate, cited by G4Media. 

The official did not rule out the possibility that the incident may have been caused by the works for connecting the building to the city's sewerage network. “What I know is that all the works had a permit, this has been verified, so the trench was not for consolidation, it was for sewerage, [...] probably these works caused it, but they had a permit, they had everything,” the general school inspector added.

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(Photo source: Inquam Photos | Alex Nicodim)