BELAGAVI:  A portion of a government girls' school at Yamkanmardi, near Belagavi, collapsed following incessant rain on Monday where two girls, both students of fifth standard, were killed on the spot and eight girls were injured.

The deceased have been identified as Shwetha Koli and Lagmavva Kattimani, both aged around 11 years and students of Standard V. The eight students, who suffered minor injuries, have been shifted to a local hospital.

Twenty-three students were in the classroom when the wall collapsed suddenly. Shwetha and Lagmavva were sitting by the wall and came under the debris. The wall supposedly collapsed due to dampness because of continuous rainfall over the past four to five days.

Mr Gajanan Mannikeri, Chikkodi DDPI, blamed the school headmaster for running classes in the old building and said, extra classrooms were available in new building where all students could have been accommodated.

"The government provided a new building to run the same school on Yamakanmardi's outskirts at a five-acre land a few years ago but classes for students from Class-I to Class-V were being conducted in the old building located at Yamakanmardi," he said.

The school’s headmaster Mahadev Bhimgol has been suspended for failing to take up maintenance works on time. An inquiry has also been ordered into the incident.