Teacher suicide after pupil deaths

A Russian teacher has committed suicide after five of her pupils died when their school building collapsed.

The 43-year-old deputy head was found hanged in her garage by her husband.

A section of the two-storey school where she worked in Belyayevka, about 680 miles southeast of Moscow, caved in on Wednesday.

The teacher was close to the dead girls, who were all around 17, headteacher Larisa Tsepovod said.

"She worked in the school for 15 years and the events affected her very much ... she was the teacher in charge of these students," she added.

Four other pupils at the school, attended by children aged between 7 and 17, were injured.

The deputy principal's death is being treated as suicide, a police spokeswoman said.

A criminal investigation has opened, looking at possible violations of safety regulations in the 46-year-old building.

Many Soviet-era Russian schools and other public buildings are decaying after decades of neglect, though the Kremlin has pledged to renovate buildings in poor condition.

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