One dead as academy building struck by falling tree

A tourist was killed and two other people were injured when the roof of an ancient academy in south China's Hunan province was struck by a falling tree on Monday afternoon.

The tree with a diameter of about one meter was about 200 years old and fell during ten hours of heavy rain, nearly destroying the main building of Yuelu Academy.

The accident occurred at 2:50 pm. Three people pulled from the rubble were taken to hospital. A female tourist died shortly afterwards.

The academy was founded in 976 on the east side of the Yuelu Mountain in Changsha. It was among the four most prestigious ancient academies in China, and later became part of Hunan University.

During WWII the academy was bombed by the Japanese invaders, and the main building was reconstructed after the war. "Due to the shortage of funding at that time, the new building was not of very good quality," said Liu Su, a professor with the department of architecture in the university.

The damage is so serious, Liu told Xinhua, that they may have to demolish the entire building and construct a new one.