School evacuated in Khon Kaen as structures ‘near collapse’
More than 100 teachers and students of Ban Lao Nadi School in Khon Kaen's Muang district were evacuated on Wednesday morning and school furniture and teaching materials removed from two 40-year-old buildings for fear they would collapse.
Khon Kaen Primary Educational Service Area Office 1 deputy chief Rangsarit Thanaphumchai led officials to inspect the buildings and visit the students, who are now taking their classes in a multi-purpose pavilion and the canteen. He said his office had already submitted a special budget in this fiscal year to construct a replacement building.
The evacuation took place after the Khon Kaen Provincial Administrative Organisation’s engineering team deemed the two buildings unsafe earlier this week. The structures, one built 43 years ago and other 38, had greatly deteriorated over time and could collapse at any time. The two buildings have now been sealed off and danger signs erected.
Ban Lao Nadi School has 179 students from Prathom 1-6 levels and eight teachers.