Dozens of students were injured on Wednesday morning when a section of a school building collapsed in Pizhou, a small city in eastern Jiangsu Province.

　　At least 21 were hospitalized, seven of them in serious condition, according to yesterday's Modern Express, a newspaper based in the provincial capital of Nanjing.

　　Class was about to begin in five minutes when the mishap occurred around 7:15am. More than 60 students were in the ill-fated classroom on the second floor when it came crashing down, the newspaper said.

　　"The roof caved in suddenly, then a main wooden beam at the back (of the classroom), concrete and tile pieces fell down," a 21-year-old student was quoted by the newspaper as saying. "Nobody had time to act." The student, surnamed Lin, suffered the most severe injury. His waist bones were fractured by the beam.

　　The injured students of the Guanhu High School in Guanhu Town were to sit for the national college entrance examinations in June.

　　The building houses more than 600 students in nine classes. The students, who failed last year's entrance examinations, were taking courses to prepare for this summer's test.

　　The school, known locally for its high rate of college admissions, built the makeshift two-story structure last summer to accommodate students who had failed the national test but wanted to have another try, according to the newspaper.

　　The students paid quite a high fee to enter the school, the newspaper said.

　　"The coming month (before the test) is so important for us. What shall we do now?" another student surnamed Li asked, while lying in a local hospital.

　　The building was completed in about a month, students alleged.

　　Since it opened, leaks had been reported. Two weeks ago, some parts of the ceiling began creaking, but school authorities didn't take any measures, some students complained. All wooden beams on the second floor were used ones from old buildings.

　　The school principal sped away in a car when a Modern Express reporter sought his comments on Wednesday.