Roof collapses at school in Thailand, killing 6 people who were sheltering from rain

Six people, including four children, died Monday when strong winds from a rainstorm caused a metal roof on a school's activity centre to collapse in northern Thailand, officials said.

Eighteen other people were hospitalised, they said.

Some students had gone inside the activity centre at the Wat Nern Por primary school in Phichit province to shelter from the rain, according to Facebook posts from the official disaster prevention department and public relations office in the province, 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of Bangkok.

Patcharin Siri, a staff member of the provincial Public Relations Department, said four children, one parent and one member of the school's cleaning staff had died.

The meteorological department issued a warning for heavy rain in upper Thailand this week.

Monday was also the official start of the rainy season.