Eleven people were confirmed dead after the ceiling of a gymnasium collapsed on Sunday afternoon at a school in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang province, local authorities said on Monday. An investigation is underway.

The accident, which occurred at the gymnasium of No 34 Middle School in the city's Longsha district, trapped 15 people, Xinhua News Agency reported. Four others had managed to escape following the collapse.

After receiving an emergency call at 2:56 pm on Sunday, the Qiqihar fire rescue command center immediately dispatched a team to the scene, including 39 firetrucks, 159 firefighters and four sniffer dogs, the National Fire and Rescue Administration said on its WeChat account. The center also notified medical, public security, emergency, electric power and other related departments to coordinate work at the scene.