JAIPUR: Part of the roof and walls of a government-run school collapsed in western India on Friday, killing seven children and injuring 26 others.

The structure collapsed when students were attending their classes early in Rajasthan state`s Jhalawar district, around 300 kilometres south of the state capital Jaipur.

Around 60 students, teachers and staff members were in the single-storey building when the accident happened.

`Seven children lost their lives and 26 others were injured,` Nand Kishore, a police official, said.

Villagers rushed to the site and rescued many injured children who were taken to medical facilities.

It had been raining heavily in the area over thepast few days.

The children who died were between eight and 11 years old, while two of those injured were in critical condition.

Television footage showed heavy earth movers removing debris and concrete from the site.

Dilapidated building The building had already been in a dilapidated condition and several complaints had been raised about it, local media said.

`This shocking incident has happened due to negligence of the administration,` Balkishan, who lives close to the school, told reporters at the site.

Balkishan said that he had been sitting along the road near the school when he heard a loud noise.

-AFP