Late at night on October 17, in Shaoyang City, Hunan Province, half of the playground at Zijiang Primary School suddenly collapsed, with part of the teaching building also affected. Witnesses said it was “truly frightening, but luckily it didn’t happen during class hours.”

At 3:06 a.m. on October 18, the emergency response command office issued a statement confirming that around 11:02 p.m. on October 17, the west wall and part of the playground had collapsed, damaging a corner of the “Boxue Building” (teaching building). Fortunately, no one was injured. Local authorities immediately dispatched housing, emergency, education, police, and fire departments to handle the situation. The cause is still under investigation.

By October 20, the Shaoyang Education Bureau stated that students had been temporarily reassigned to other nearby schools based on grade level. Officials emphasised that city leaders are “personally overseeing the response” and working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

Zijiang Primary School is a full-time public elementary school with two campuses covering about 3,400 square meters, 3,616 students, and 193 staff members. It has been recognised as a “National Youth Football Specialty School” and a “National Civilized Campus.”