06:04 pm, Friday 30 July, 2010

The construction of a new covered outdoor learning area (COLA) at a public school in Kooringal has received a major setback after the structure’s steel frame collapsed on Tuesday.

The school had been given $1.2 million for construction of the COLA under the Building the Education Revolution’s (BER) Primary Schools for the 21st Century funding program.

The possibility of a miscalculation involving a crane as the cause of the collapse had been advanced, but a spokesperson for the project’s contractor had refused to make any comment about it.

According to the BER website, the project was about 30 per cent complete. At the time of the incident, the steel frame of the COLA was still being worked on.

No one was injured in the crash, and there were no students near the construction site when the incident happened.

“The site’s been closed for the moment and WorkCover has been notified and is on the way,” the project leader for the construction company said.

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