A roof collapses in Smart High School, a school in Burj al-Barajneh, southern suburbs of Beirut, April 24, 2023. (Photo circulating on social media platforms)
BEIRUT — Caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi on Tuesday tasked the Mount Lebanon Governorate with inspecting the structure of a Beirut high school whose roof collapsed Monday, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.
The roof of Smart High School, located in Burj al-Barajneh in Beirut's southern suburbs, collapsed during the Eid al-Fitr holiday when students were not inside the facility. No one was injured.
The school's principal, Kamal Kaouk, gave a statement Monday claiming "there were cracks in the roof" prior to the collapse. He said the school's administration "rushed to inform the municipal council and launched the necessary restoration workshop," which will be finalized by the end of the month.
"A field inspection will be conducted by an engineer from the municipality of Burj al-Barajneh to prepare the necessary report on the viability of the building," Kaouk's statement added. "Additionally, members of the Internal Security Forces arrived at the school to closely inspect the damage."
On Tuesday, the caretaker Interior Minister sent a letter to the Mount Lebanon Governorate requesting coordination with the concerned municipality to conduct an urgent inspection of the school's structure, according to the NNA.
This is not the first time a school's rooftop has collapsed in Lebanon. In November, 16-year-old Maguy Mahmoud died when the roof caved in at her school in Tripoli's Jabal Mohsen neighborhood. Another student was injured in the collapse.
Following the incident, Parliament's Public Works, Transportation, Energy and Water Committee decided to form a sub-committee tasked with tracking buildings at risk of collapse.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Works told L'Orient Today that the Education Ministry is the agency tasked with conducting school inspections and refused to offer further comment.
"The competent authorities in the Education Ministry have communicated with our school from the first moments and gave directions not to receive students, teachers and school workers until the completion of the necessary restoration," Kaouk said in his Monday statement.
A spokesperson for the Education Ministry was not immediately available for comment.