The city of Mazzouna, in the governorate of Sidi Bouzid, is in mourning after the tragic death of three high school students, crushed by the collapse of a dilapidated wall whose dangerousness had however been reported on several occasions.
A drama occurred on Monday near the school ” Ibn Hazm “, When a pan of the surrounding wall, weakened by the years and the bad weather, suddenly collapsed under the effect of strong gusts of wind. Five students, all aged 18 to 19 and in full preparation for the baccalaureate, were buried. Three lost their lives at the time, while the other two were emergency transfer to the hospital.
The emotion quickly turned into anger. Demonstrations broke out in the region: roads have been blocked, burned tires, and an administrative vehicle targeted. The courses were suspended and several businesses fell curtain, as a sign of mourning and protest.
According to the inhabitants and several local media, the condition of the wall had long been worrying. Alerts had been launched, and an official renovation request had been filed a few weeks before the tragedy. Despite this, no intervention had been made. The wall, built in the 1980s, showed obvious signs of fragility.
-This drama once again relaunches the controversy over the degraded state of school infrastructure in Tunisia. The teaching union denounced the inaction of the authorities in the face of known and repeated risks in several establishments across the country. He claims immediate measures to secure public schools and avoid other disasters.
The inhabitants of Mazzouna claim the opening of an investigation and the sanctions against those responsible for what they call ” neglect criminal ”. The government, for the time being, has not yet officially reacted.
This new dramatic accident echoes the collapse of a wall in Kairouan, in December 2023, which had claimed the lives of three workers. The event had already caused a national outcry led to the dismissal of several officials.
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