Probe into exam hall vent collapse

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Eleven Year 9 pupils from Minster College on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent were taken to hospital following the incident.

The Health and Safety Executive said inspectors would be working with the school and Kent County Council to ascertain the cause of the incident and to determine if there were any lessons to learn.

Two of the children remained in hospital for observation, while the other nine were discharged after being treated for minor injuries. The school is to reopen after having closed after the incident occurred.

Head teacher Alan Klee said it was "very lucky" that more students were not injured as the heating duct had largely fallen between the desks so had missed most of them.

He added that the sports hall received regular maintenance checks and the safety of the building had never posed any cause for concern.

One of the pupils who was in the sports hall at the time described how the children fled the building after the vent fell down.

Sam Millen, 13, was in the room when the duct collapsed and said he saw a boy crushed under a piece of metal.

He said: "We'd been doing our exam for about 20 minutes when there was a loud creak in the air vent, which was attached to the ceiling in a U-shape. We heard a bit more creaking and then the whole back bit fell down.

"It looked like one boy at the front was crushed under a piece of metal and everyone started panicking and screaming."